PRSM
by PriestessAmy
Summary: Everyone falls in love with everyone and all the flaws from the show are completely ignored in favor of more romantic threads and simple solutions. It's all the fluff and none of the gloom! Including: Poly RWBY, Arkos with trans!Jaune, Ciel x Penny (& Ruby?), Neopolitan x Emerald, Winter x Glynda, Nora x Neon, and more!
1. Do You Love Me?

After such a thrilling and triumphant victory, Ruby had really expected that the moment her head hit the pillow, she would be out like a light. Instead, she just lay there thinking and re-thinking and over-thinking about what the attack on the train could mean and who might really be behind it or what they had to gain from it. Who was that girl that she fought the night of the dance? Or that girl Yang insisted on tangling with on the train? Why did she get the sinking suspicion that Torchwick wouldn't be in Ironwood's possession forever?

There was just way, way too much plaguing her, and if she couldn't fall asleep, then Ruby figured she might as well do something with herself other than laying around. After wrapping up in a cozy sweater, she found her feet carrying her towards the roof of the dormitory area when a sound caught her ears, pleasant and lyrical. She opened the door carefully and stepped out, surprised to see Weiss sitting casually with feet dangling over the ledge, singing softly to herself.

For a moment, she wasn't certain whether she ought to just go back inside, stay where she was and enjoy the tune for a while, or make her presence known for fear of catching the famous Schnee wrath. Fear won out in the end and Ruby coughed nervously as she approached, joining Weiss in sitting down. "I knew you were a singer, but I've never actually heard you before. You're really good."

"I should hope so. I've been practicing for as long as I can remember. Normally I would be insulted by 'really good' but... I knew what you meant." All the usual snide words were there, but lacking any of the usual venom. Mostly, Weiss just seemed... tired.

"I'm trying to not be so excessive all the time. But I can overdo it just this once, if you want?"

"No. But thanks for offering." She smiled, albeit weakly.

"You couldn't sleep either?" It felt like a safe question to ask. Asking her 'what's wrong' had a way of backfiring and causing her to throw up walls.

Still, even the innocent question created some tension in her shoulders. "Yes. I uh... I guess with everything that happened, it makes you think."

"Think about what?" Ugh, that one just slipped out, Ruby hadn't even meant to express it. But now it was out there, and before long Weiss was going to be yelling at her or something. Except that didn't happen. Weiss just kept looking sad and was avoiding glancing in her direction. "It's okay. I've been going over literally every possible question you can imagine. Maybe if we talked it through together-"

"Together!?" Whoops, there it was. Instantly her voice dropped to an angry hush when she remembered that it was the middle of the night and they were surrounded by dorms. "You want to do things together now? Where was that team-focused attitude earlier? Where was your spirit as our leader when you went wandering off by yourself and _fell in a hole_!? Without Crescent Rose, without your scroll, with me!" Weiss' eyes went wide and Ruby could see how shimmery they were now. Her face was vibrant and crimson. "W-Without... us, I mean. You... could have died, Ruby... And when everything feels so screwed up, you're not allowed to do that."

Ruby finally shifted over so she was seated right next to Weiss and placed her arm around her back, rubbing her shoulder slowly. "We're huntresses. That's always a possibility. And what if I hadn't fallen in that hole? We wouldn't have found Torchwick and those White Fang guys and the train? Today's catastrophe would have been a million times worse if I hadn't fallen in that hole."

"Do you know what I keep thinking? If I had to pick between what actually happened, and you staying with us? Even if that meant never discovering the train and Torchwick's plan working and everything going to hell?" She wrung her hands together, trying her hardest to be her usual fancy poised self. She wasn't entirely successful. "I don't know which I would pick. And that makes me feel like a terrible, awful huntress. It makes me want to give up and go work for my father's company and never touch a weapon again. All because-" She sounded too choked up to continue.

It still seemed tough to believe, but Ruby attempted to finish the thought anyway. "Because of me?" Weiss covered her mouth, shutting her eyes tight, nodding slowly. "Um. I'm really sorry Weiss. At the time, I guess I wasn't thinking much – which, hah, isn't that always my problem – but I also knew that if I got myself into a scrape, you'd be there to save me. Er, you _guys_. All of you. T-Team RWBY!"

Without warning, Weiss threw her arms around her shoulders and hugged her tight, burying her face in Ruby's neck in an attempt to hide her sniffling. Again, it wasn't entirely successful. "O-Okay well... Just think next time. Idiot. Because you're not allowed to die. That's the rule. If you think... y-you're gonna die, you tell whoever you're fighting that Weiss Schnee said it's against the rules."

"The Schnee name has been known to strike terror in the hearts of all who hear it, even Grimm. I'm proud to add this weapon to my arsenal. May I ask why you-" Any further banter was cut off by Weiss' lips pressing against her own. Oh. That was why. Well, it wasn't as if Ruby didn't have perhaps a few unresolved feelings in that department herself. She definitely wasn't going to begrudge Weiss an angry kiss in the heat of the moment.

* * *

Sleep was tough sometimes. Yang yawned softly and turned on her side, shocked to see that both beds across the room were empty. A moment or so later she became aware of the sound of shifting and light from below her. She shuffled over and drooped over the edge of her bed to see what Blake was up to. Her partner was sitting upright, idly fiddling with her scroll. "Hey..."

"Hey..." Blake offered a weary smile and slowly set her scroll aside. "Seems none of us are sleeping properly tonight. Can't say I'm entirely surprised. Today was... a nightmare. I'm not even ready to start processing the thought of the White Fang working together with a slime like Torchwick."

"Any clue where the Wonder Twins disappeared off to?"

The faunus glanced toward the window with just a twinge of melancholy. "Ah. Up on the roof. I was initially woken up by the sound of Weiss singing. It was very nice." Her ears twitched slightly, doing that adorable little radar thing they did. "Ruby joined her recently. They're... having a moment."

Yang might have been thrilled to hear that those two dorks were finally just admitting what was going on, but Blake looked so weirdly depressed that it was hard to be too excited. Besides, Yang wasn't really in a position to be mad at someone for not talking things out. Case in point, her partner sitting there looking sad about everything and she didn't have a clue where to start helping her. But Yang also wasn't one to let her own incompetence stop her from trying. With all the finesse of a gymnast combined with a street fighter, she somersaulted over herself, plopping to a seated position vaguely next to where Blake was with a cheeky grin. "You say that like it's a bad thing!"

"Well it... I-It interrupted the song. It was beautiful. Our teammate is a very lovely singer. I mean her singing voice is... lovely. Well. She's lovely too."

 _Hoooo boy... We did not prepare for this. But that's okay! If anyone is ready for a little improv, it's us, Yang. It's all fine. Blake just have an obvious, painful crush on Weiss. Whatever._ Showing zero social graces, Yang gave her a friendly slap on the back. "Well hey, good news, because you're also lovely! And talented. And graceful. And yeah, Ruby's awesome too. We're all awesome. So as far as I'm concerned, it's only natural that you would feel both happy and jealous at the same time. I can... I mean I get it. Being conflicted."

Blake looked back at her with sudden intensity, eyes searching slightly. "You..." If she had meant to say more words than that, they weren't coming. So the two sat in silence for a while, Blake just... staring Yang down with a weirdly intense curiosity. It was probably only thirty seconds or so, but for an impatient beast like Yang, it was really freaking long. So long, she didn't even realize that Blake had been slowly and carefully moving closer and closer to her. As always, she was so fluid and cat-like, somewhere between investigative and predatory.

Blake's hand rose up, just as slow and steady, agonizingly slow, and Yang was terrified of moving for fear she would frighten her or something. Her fingers made their way past her ear, grazing it lightly as they did so, and nestled among her amber locks. Not once did Blake sever eye-contact with her, and it was as alluring as it was terrifying. The hand did its best to push her hair out of the way and tuck it behind her ear. Then it moved further back, lightly resting along the nape of Yang's neck. She used its new position to gain the leverage necessary to tug their faces closer and closer together. Always slow and steady.

Finally, blissfully, wonderfully, amazingly (and a bunch of other adverbs as well) they kissed. Yang was hardly a stranger to physical affection. But Blake was so different from anyone she had ever been with before. Each movement was slow and gentle and methodical and yet full of that same intensity she put into her every word and movement. Okay yes, you could safely say that Yang was a little bit obsessed with Blake lately. But the good news was that the affection was reciprocated.

One got the impression that Blake really did like to take her time with literally everything. It seemed as though this kiss could go on for hours. _Cuddling with her must be a marathon. Oh my god, and the-_

Any further thoughts, NSFW or otherwise, were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. "You speak madness, Ruby Rose. I'm simply saying we'd have to rename the team, and we'd probably get someone who doesn't come up with adorable names for all our team attacks, and... Huh. That's interesting."

The downside to taking things so slow and casual was that when you were interrupted by, say, your sister and your other roommate, you lacked the energy necessary to pull apart quickly and pretend like you were doing _literally anything other than what you were actually doing_. The air in the room was awkward to say the least.

"I-I can explain!" the poor faunus blurted it out so quickly that it actually kind of startled Yang after all that careful tenderness.

Weiss just smiled knowingly, and even Ruby was looking pretty pleased with herself. Yang felt the urge to fix this situation, but she wasn't immediately sure how. She didn't want to just turn it around on Weiss and Ruby, that was hardly fair. She liked being there with Blake, but she also wanted Blake to be happy with Weiss, but she liked Ruby being happy with Weiss, and god this was all just too confusing.

After all, relationships formed when you joined your hunting party, that was common. Poor Pyrrha was constantly fawning over Jaune, and everyone knew about Coco and Velvet. And her dad had married not just one but two of his team members. More to the point, she had long since developed a theory that Taiyang had been dating both girls' mothers even before marrying either of them. Perhaps such a thing was genetic?

"C'mere... We're all stressed out and being weird and I think we need a nice group cuddle pile. Besides, it's clear, we gotta talk about some things."


	2. Manifest Destiny

Team RWBY weren't the only ones having some difficulties sleeping. In fact, across all of Beacon Academy, a large number of students were restless and worried. Across the hall, Team JNPR were having similar issues. Ren offered to make everyone a late night snack and Nora agreed to help – which Ren was willing to let her do, provided 'help' meant doing absolutely nothing.

Pyrrha looked at Jaune, seeing just how heavily the world seemed to be weighing on him. If anything, she expected him to feel victorious after slaughtering that ferocious ursa. But he looked tense, like a string pulled far too tight at both ends. "It may take a while for Ren to finish baking. Forgive me, Ren _and Nora_ to finish baking. I think I'm going to go take a walk. Would you like to accompany me, Jaune?"

"Yeah. I could stand to get some pavement under my boots."

The two moved without much conversation until they were well outside the main campus, finding a bench to sit on and rest. Finally Pyrrha decided to make a passing attempt at talking. "Jaune, is everything alright? I know that today was harrowing, but you seem especially... worn out."

He gave a soft laugh and brushed his fingers back through his hair, staring up at the stars and sighing. "Just nerves. Just ah... just nerves. That fight was nuts, and before long, we're gonna have the stress of the tournament and festival. That's all."

Jaune was their captain for a reason. Despite evidence to the contrary, he was actually capable of being insanely brave, confronting large Grimm and taking them down swiftly. Even when he took his knocks, he got right back up and kept going. Pyrrha could understand jitters, but she didn't see the nerves of a warrior. She saw a friend attempting to hold back something significant and personal and scary. She understood that prodding too hard would cause Jaune to break instead. But she was worried. "That is clearly not all. Please, Jaune, I'm your partner! If something is wrong, it would mean a lot to me to be able to help you through it."

"I-" He started, then suddenly stopped himself. "You're right. I do have something to tell you. Just promise you won't freak out or anything?" Pyrrha sat up and felt her chest begin to tighten slightly. It was no secret to everyone but Jaune that she was waiting for the big goof to realize she'd been pining for him, and reciprocate. "Do you believe in destiny? Or like... fate? Like there's something we have to be and it's already decided for us long before we're even born?"

That wasn't quite the direction she'd expected this to take. "Probably not in the same sense in which you are thinking. I always pictured it as this kind of shining light that you spend your whole life working toward. And while you might have aspirations and hopes, you'll never actually know what it is you're meant for until you're already there, happy and whole." She joined Jaune in looking upward at the stars. They were comforting, dangling up their on their invisible strings.

"Thanks, Pyrrha. I knew you'd know just what to say. The truth is, I don't think I was meant to be a hunter." Her heart suddenly sank as Pyrrha realized that she had just given Jaune the materials needed to convince him to leave Beacon forever. She had always imagined the worst possible fate would be to tell him how she felt and be turned down. As she was now discovering, she hadn't considered the possibility that Jaune might want to leave forever! "I think I was meant to be a huntress..."

Oh.

Ohhhhh. Pyrrha mentally chided herself for not waiting for Jaune to finish talking before drawing conclusions and freaking out. She actually began to laugh a little and looked back in his – her? their? - direction. "Well, that would make sense. You are in good company with a team like ours. I'm a bisexual tomboy athlete. Nora is the butchest lesbian ever, even with all the pink. And asexual little Ren started his transition when he was, I believe, eleven years old?"

Jaune suddenly lost all signs of embarrassment, completely replaced with confusion. "Ren...?"

"Jaune!" Every now and then, Pyrrha had a way of taking on a voice of righteous indignation that Nora had affectionately dubbed her 'mom voice'. "You cannot be serious! Ren doesn't exactly try to hide it!"

"It never came up!"

"You've seen his surgery scars, Jaune."

"I thought they were battle scars!"

"His hormone medication is out in plain sight at all times."

"Yeah, and it's rude to read other peoples' prescriptions without permission, _Pyrrha_!"

"He starts every childhood story with 'when I was a girl.'"

"Ren has a very dry sense of humor, I thought he was just making a joke!"

This talk had become progressively more ridiculous and nonsensical until the both of them were interrupted with fits of laughter. Finally they resigned themselves to the humor of the situation and just continued to laugh out loud. Pyrrha was grateful for the reprieve after an awful day. "They are going to be so happy, you know. If I had to guess, Nora will be insanely excited and Ren will just have one of those knowing smiles."

* * *

Nora was insanely excited. Ren had one of those knowing smiles. Pyrrha couldn't help but allow herself her own little private smirk of satisfaction. She may not have known how Jaune had been feeling (due in part to her own selfish wishes), but now that it was out there, things felt... lighter. Ren was swapping "that trans feeling" stuff with Jaune and Nora was looking for potential names on her phone. "Ahh! You are so lucky! You get to pick a whole new name! You could beeeee... Saffron? Jasmine? Ooh! You could be a Citrine. You strike me as a Citrine~"

"I'm not going to be a Citrine, but thanks anyway, Nora" Jaune said bashfully.

"Hey, I just remembered, this means you owe me 50 lien, girl." Ren smirked and held out his open hand, at which point Nora angrily slammed the money in question into it.

"Shut it, jerkface! How was I supposed to know that she was going to come out as a girl? It seemed entirely reasonable that she might be agender." Argument aside, Pyrrha could see a gigantic smile bloom on Jaune's face when Nora used female pronouns. That was a good sign.

"Yeah, and I was the one who turned out to be right. Thanks!" he added cheerfully before pocketing the cash in question. He turned his attention back to Jaune, more casual now. "So how are you feeling? Do you think you wanna keep this on the down-low for the time being? I'm mean, it's weird. Because it's kind of stressful to just jump into it, but it's also stressful to keep in the closet. But I'll tell you this much – the stress of coming out is way more manageable."

"I think it would be easier if I could know for sure that everyone would be as nice as you guys. I mean, I know most of my friends will be cool, obviously; Ruby's the aggressively friendly type. And it's not like Cardin is going to mess with me ever again... Do you think Ozpin and Glynda would know how to deal?"

"They've literally never once had a problem with me. I mean, they're educators and trainers. All they really care about is that you're growing as a person and a huntress." Again, when Ren used the term 'huntress', Pyrrha could see a little flash of joy in Jaune's face.

She reached out and gently placed a hand at her friend's back, rubbing slowly with a supportive smile. She was about to say something warm and supportive when Nora suddenly leapt to her feat with all the energy she had in her system. "I got it!"

Everyone jumped slightly in surprise, not expecting the increase in intensity. "God, Nora, got what?" Jaune asked, looking at her as the exhaustion started to shine through.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you..." she pointed at Jaune, pausing for way too long. "C'mon, drumroll. Or do I have to do all the work?" Hesitantly, everyone started rapidly patting their knees to provide her with the required atmosphere. "I present to youuuuuu... Marigold Arc, captain of Team MaRziPaN!"

The blonde suddenly stopped drumrolling, and everyone else followed suit, at which point she broke out in strained laughter, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. "Ahah, thanks everyone, this... t-this would be a nightmare without you. Nora... I don't think I could come up with a better name if I took all week. Ren, I'm probably going to be bugging you for a while for advice and stuff. And Pyrrha, seriously, you're the best partner ever. Hah, I think I'm gonna do it. Talk to some people, find out what I need to do with Ozpin, all that messy stuff. Uh but... you know, feel free to go with Marigold when it's just us." She wiped at her face with her arm and immediately Pyrrha and the others launched into an overly cheesy group hug.

Maybe their little walk hadn't ended exactly how Pyrrha had wanted it to. But all things considered, it went very well indeed. Despite the horror inherent in a terrorist attack on the city, things were looking up.


	3. What You Wish For

Ciel glanced at her watch - 8:15. This was a terrible idea. She never should have agreed to let Penny go off by herself. Well, technically speaking, she wasn't by herself. Ruby Rose, leader of Beacon's team RWBY, had requested some time with her friend at 7:00 and Ciel very, very hesitantly agreed to give the two of them an hour. Ironwood had been very explicit with his instructions – Penny was to be protected at all costs, at all times. Ciel had thought the man was insane, at least until she saw the girl in action and realized why the general thought of her as such precious cargo. It was clear there was something very odd about her partner. No doubt, someday she would discover what it was. At any rate, Ruby Rose was an accomplished fighter if something of a known dunce. She could ensure Penny's safety in the meantime.

When the sound of the door hit her ears, she looked at her watch again. "You're twenty three minutes late, ma'am. I hope you understand my my frustration." She didn't even bother to look at the girl, eyes remaining trained firmly on her book.

"My apologies, Ciel. After parting ways with Ruby, I required... time. Ah, time to think, I mean."

The complete lack of excitability and cheer alerted Ciel to the fact that something was wrong. She set her book aside and actually looked at her partner, noticing that her appearance was also missing its usual shine. It was especially obvious, considering how infinitely unflappable Penny tended to be. "Are you... alright?" It was a foreign feeling to be asking Penny something like this. All their interactions had been surface level, and prior to being paired up, they only spoke maybe once a week. All of a sudden she was legitimately caring about her well-being. "Did Ruby Rose upset you? Do you need me to have a word with her?"

Perhaps caring was too strong a word. She was charged with protecting her, and logically that included keeping her sane and happy. A distracted huntress was a dead huntress.

"No! Ruby was very well-behaved! Um, lacking in her usual manners perhaps, but that is part and parcel with her personality." Penny appeared to be busying herself with straightening her bed despite the fact that her sheets were even more precisely positioned than Ciel's. "She told me of a few personal details. It left me with several confusing _feelings_." Shockingly, for a girl so chipper, Penny appeared to have the same level of disdain for emotions that Ciel had.

She smiled, mostly to herself. "Yes, feelings can be quite the inconvenience. It seems as though my life would be much better without them. Alas, we are merely human."

There was some rather heavy silence as Penny continued to fidget with her bed some more, effectively undoing her perfectly made bed so that she could do it all over again. "This is not entirely accurate, Ms. Soleil." Finally she turned back to face Ciel, sitting on the edge of her bed and looking rather forlorn. "Ironwood wanted to keep this a secret, but you're my partner now, even if it is under duress. Like the majority of his army, I am a fabricated automaton. But I am also the only one of my kind, capable of producing and maintaining an aura. If everyone else had their way, I'd be locked away in my home at the lab where I was built. But I insisted, perhaps obnoxiously, and they agreed to let me come here. The caveat being that someone would have to act as my escort. A young person who could pose as my teammate."

"That explains a great deal. Thank you for telling me this, Penny. Frankly, I'm insulted that General Ironwood did not think I could be trusted with the information to start." The girl – or, robot rather – looked somewhat shocked by her lack of surprise. Ciel smiled warmly, her head canting slightly. "We've spent a great deal of time together the last few weeks. Between watching your interactions with others and your particular fighting style, it wasn't exactly difficult to start forming theories. It's fine, of course. If anything, it's made you far more interesting to be around."

Whatever had been bothering Penny seemed to fade away in light of this news. "Ciel! Are you saying...? May we be friends?"

As an overly affectionate girl, Penny could sometimes grate a little on the nerves. To realize now that she was actually an android capable of some very real and very intense emotions, it shifted the way that Ciel viewed her partner. She began to laugh again, oddly delighted to realize that she was basically the temporary caretaker to this curious creation. "Yes, I suppose it would be-"

"Huzzah!" Any further response was cut off by Penny launching herself across the space between their beds for a tackling hug. This was the first time the girl had shown any affection in her direction. Ciel had made it clear early on that she was a no-nonsense type that kept a strict schedule and spent her free time putting things in binders with clearly delineated sections and colored tabs. As such, she had not until this moment realized that one need only have Penny on top of them to notice that she was surprisingly heavy for such a slight frame. "You will not regret this, Ciel! Ruby assures me I am a very good friend indeed." She began to stand back up, brushing herself off.

"Which reminds me... You were upset when you came in. What happened?" It was a curious situation for Ciel, because her she was experiencing two simultaneous concerns. She was, of course, worried about how Penny was doing – especially now that they were friends. But she was also curious about just how complex and deep Penny's ability to seem human could run.

As quickly as it had shown, Penny's cheery mood dipped again and she sat down on her own bed once more. "That is... a somewhat awkward subject. And I do not know how much I can say. But Ruby was telling me of a recent... romantic exploit? Then something went terribly wrong. I was happy for her. Yet I was also upset. It became difficult to process things and I wanted desperately to stay close to her but also to get far away. It was as if I was suddenly affected by some virus."

Today continued to produce the most interesting details! Ciel smiled patiently at her friend. "Ah, that's what we call jealousy. I wouldn't think it possible for you to develop a crush but I suppose if you can make your own aura then anything is possible."

"Jealous...? N-No, that is not possible! I know I was made to do all sorts of incredible things. But that is _not_ something I can ever possibly do. They just wanted me to _appear_ human." Penny seemed to catch herself in something of a loop between technical information and social graces. "Besides! Ruby is just a friend. And the important thing is that she is happy. Which she is! So that is good! Romantic feelings were never intended for me. It is not in my programming and it is not something that a good friend does."

Penny's fretting aside, Ciel was suddenly feeling elated. She was up on her feet and pacing now. "What we intend to do and what we actually do are two different things, Penny. Perhaps it is true, maybe they never meant for you to experience complex human interactions like this. But you are! The fact that we're having this conversation is proof of it." Her feet carried her in front of Penny and in her euphoria she planted her hands on the girl's shoulders, shaking her just a little. "You are so much more than you imagine! Perhaps something snuck in through your programming. Maybe you were lied to about your parameters. But one thing is very clear!"

Penny seemed a touch lost but did her best to smile through it anyway. "And... that would be...?"

"With every passing day, you are becoming more and more human! You're a miracle, an astounding production of science and engineering! And I will be the one to help guide you through this. I... I'm sorry I was hellish to you before." She sighed and sat down next to Penny now with a somewhat weary smile. "I want to help you. I know it's hard being saddled with a partner who can barely land a punch, leaving you with all the work in the upcoming festival. But I can at least continue to cheer you on and provide you with information on your opponents. I want to help you sort out whatever is happening to you. Besides, I've seen you fight, you can take on an entire hunter team by yourself."

There was some silence as Penny sat there in thought. Ciel assumed it was because she was assessing the question. Surprisingly, her face fell again and she looked off as though there were something incredibly interesting on the far wall. "If it would not be a burden on you, I would welcome the help. I fear I am in the midst of a second emotional crisis at the moment."

Ciel hadn't expected that response and she wasn't yet certain she could actually help. But she wanted to follow through on this promise. "Of course. Tell me."

"When I was back in Atlas in the laboratory, I attempted to call the scientists who created me my parents. They said it was a foolish idea. General Ironwood is almost solely interested in my combat potential. Ruby is a great friend and she treats me just like a regular human, but because of that she ignores the fact that I am also an android. But you're the first person to ever show interest in me as I am. Not in spite of any of those things, but because of them. That is new to me. I am experiencing... feelings... in your... direction?" Her hands were fidgeting together in her lap, and at this point Ciel was too baffled to really think of a good response yet. "And I am still processing the importance of emotions among humans. And I know that this will complicate things, because emotions tend to be complicated. I hope you will forgive this burst of honesty."

"No! No no!" Already the words were starting to spill out from her own excitement, between discovering that her partner was a machine, and now seeing that she was a very complex one at that. It was hardly the worst thing in the world to have some of that energy pointed in her direction. Far from it. She grabbed, fumbling slightly, for Penny's hands and looked into her eyes. "I think that's marvelous! You should follow your instincts. You should... test the limits of what you are! I would be honored to help you explore it all."

That seemed to brighten her mood slightly, but Penny still looked a touch nervous. "I do not mean to sound as though I am spurning your offer. But I feel compelled to ask – are you also feeling something? Or is this just for the sake of science?"

Ah, dear, Ciel hadn't considered that. Was her eagerness merely the result of the same thing that drove the scientists that neglected Penny's human traits? It felt impossible to say for certain. Not that long ago, she had thought of her partner as little more than an excitable bother. Finding out her secret had changed things. Did that mean she was just fascinated by her robotics? Was she only interested in her battle prowess? Would she become too focused on Penny's humanity at the expense of her circuits?

It was confusing, and that certainly seemed to be the word of the evening. "Honestly? I do not know. So I suppose this is your first lesson. Humans are messy, sometimes quite literally, and we do things that make no sense. But I can tell you this much, I am intrigued by you Penny. I find you interesting, fascinating, not for any single part of you but for all the things I'm learning about you. And I'm excited to watch you figure yourself out. Is that... sufficient?"

Silently, Penny shifted closer to her, resting her head against Ciel's shoulder. "Quite sufficient."


	4. C'mon

Velvet stepped out into the bright sunshine and breathed deep from the air of excitement hovering around the school. The weather was amazing, and hot enough that she was able to go about in just shorts and a tanktop. Coco was... less enthralled about the weather. "Coco, c'mon, I know it's a little warm, but you wouldn't be overheating if you'd worn a few less layers."

Her girlfriend puffed up slightly, bristling at the implications in statement. "I am dedicated as ever to fashion, and that's not going to change just because we're closer to the sun than we have any right to be." Admittedly, Coco did look amazing, but she always looked amazing. Tight jeans, fitted plaid shirt, boots, all of them high-end. This date was already off to a perfect start.

Girlfriend. Plaid. Date. All of this was still something of a shock to poor Velvet, even after so much time. She spent her first semester with team CFVY as the seemingly useless quiet one. But over time her teammates discovered just how skilled she really was, and agreed to keep her their own personal secret weapon. However, that meant that others around Beacon continued to assume the worst about her. That created the bullying, and the bullying created an incredibly protective set of teammates.

Coco proved to be her most intense bodyguard. Yatsuhashi may have had the size necessary to give anyone pause for thought, Coco had The Stare. She would do this thing where she would push her glasses down her nose and just glare at someone, and Velvet would get to watch as their spine turned to jelly in an instant.

For the better part of a year, that was how things went. When Velvet was with her team, she could pretend for a time that she was important and worth something. It was only a problem when she was by herself, which was kind of an issue since she was an introvert and she liked her alone time. Then, she was back to her usual shy self, the long-eared target for anyone with a grudge against faunus.

Things came to a head when Velvet found herself the victim of yet another asshole jerkface, but this time, it was one of the new first-years. It had been one thing when it was Velvet's own peers coming after her. That was the kind of high school thing that everyone went through, even when you were a hunter. But for it to be some tall aryan dirtbag twice her size but younger than her... it had been too much to take. She didn't even make it all the way to her dorm before breaking out in tears.

Yatsuhashi and Fox were out doing something and only Coco had been in the room. She was up immediately, hugging her and asking who she needed to kill.

"It's not that. I just wish I didn't feel so useless, literally everywhere except the battlefield. People walk all over me, and everyone just feels sorry for me."

Coco's eyebrows furrowed and she roughly grabbed her hand and dragged her off for places unknown. Their destination turned out to be a beautiful cliff not too far from Beacon's campus. Her partner removed her glasses somewhat dramatically and gave her a genuine smile – something very few people got to see. "You have a marvelous eye, you know. And a great heart. You have so many friends it's insane, I mostly just get followers and fans. You wanna talk about being useless anywhere but the battlefield? Yatsuhashi and Fox have you beat by a mile, those guys never know what to do with themselves if they're not killing Grimm. Maybe a select handful of people think you're worth annoying just because you've got long ears. And it feels like everyone just wants to baby you because you can't stand up for yourself. Am I on target so far?"

Velvet had just sort of nodded dumbly at the time, unable to conjure a decent response.

"I know you could stand up to them if you tried. But you're also not the type to do that, not physically anyway. Too much trouble with Oz and Glyn for beating up the newbies. So, you have my permission to use your semblance and give those idiots The Stare. Okay?"

Velvet giggled softly and nodded in understanding. "Okay. But... I still don't understand why we're all the way out here."

"Oh! Because you're going to photograph me to make yourself feel better. And modeling makes me feel good. So everybody wins. This delightful cliff is just begging to become scenery to our brilliance."

Well, she could hardly turn down such a delightful offer, so the two of them spent an hour or so just taking pictures and chatting and, unless Velvet was mistaken, flirting. It became clearer over the next few weeks. Coco was always around Velvet whenever she could help it, and not in her usual protective way, just... around. During combat, she was particularly fond of their Crosshares maneuver during which they both emptied entire minigun clips into any Grimm that looked at them funny. Coco had even agreed to help put together the school dance!

Then, the mission came along and any hope that Velvet had about maybe getting to dance with Coco was gone. It didn't help that the mission was basically an absolute horror-show. Grimm were everywhere, and they only managed to get a moment's peace by making 'camp' in the top of a mostly-intact building. Coco and Velvet were on first watch, both of them alternating between looking around them and staring into the fire.

"You okay? You seem distracted today."

Velvet glanced at her scroll and double-checked the time and date. "If we were still at Beacon right now, we would be dancing and having a fun time and..." She suddenly stopped herself, biting lightly on her lower lip.

Coco flawlessly pushed herself up to her feet in one fluid movement. Just as gracefully she took Velvet's hand and pulled her up as well, dancing with her now to a song that the both of them could only hear in their minds. Velvet giggled softly as they moved about the space that once held an office or something, trying to pretend there were streamers and balloons. "You know," Coco said before guiding her into a spin. "I was going to ask you to be my date to the dance."

She dipped her, and Velvet was feeling particularly honest as she stared up into her eyes. "I was going to say yes..." It was, quite possibly, the smoothest thing she'd ever said in her life. She stay there for some time, suspended in Coco's arms, wondering what was next.

The romance was brought to a sudden halt when they were interrupted by the sound of way, way too many Grimm. Everything from that point was something of a blur as they woke their teammates and hurried to call in an escape vehicle while fending off wave after wave of the beasts. They had fought to the best of their abilities, but the mission was a failure and there was something of an air of shame that hung around them, even if they tried to be positive for the sake of the first-years who were on their way out for their own missions.

So. Today's trip to visit the festival fairgrounds was something of an attempt on both girls' parts to make up for lost time and to finish what they had started the night their mission ended. Junk food and rigged games were the order of the day. They started off by hitting up one of the many noodle stands littered across the campus, both staring in awe at the massive bowls they received, despite having ordered the 'small' ones. Velvet at least tried to be dainty about the way she ate, but Coco made no such attempts.

"Hey," she began through a mouth full of noodles. "You hear the rumors? I guess there must be something going around, because seriously, like everyone is hooking up. Team RWBY is going the extra mile by stopping just short of incest. And Team JNPR is now Team MRPN after their leader came out as a girl. Maybe a contagious disease."

Admittedly there were far more pressing issues at hand, like that terrorist attack or the upcoming tournament. But this was certainly a much more pleasant conspiracy to consider. She swallowed her current mouthful of noodles and giggled softly. "I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with the idea that we're dating because of some virus."

"Nah baby, we're immune. Just incredibly gay..." Coco quipped, tipping down her sunglasses and winking at her playfully. Naturally, she broke out in heavy blushing, and was unable to conjure a response so she just shoved another mouthful of noodles in her face before she embarrassed herself by saying something silly.

Bellies full, the two chose to walk it off for a bit by exploring the fairgrounds a little longer. They continued to talk idly as they did so, occasionally pausing to greet friends they passed, trying to be as casual as possible about the fact that they were holding hands. The midway caught Velvet's attention and they went to go investigate. "I'm not sure I really understand why they think it's a good idea to have games of skill at a school filled with hunters in training. Practically everyone here has firearm training and knows how to accurately throw an object, like say, a ball? Honestly, it all feels a bit childi- Ooh! Bunny!"

There was a loud laugh as Coco squeezed her hand and pulled her toward the booth she was staring at. "Holy crap, you are too adorable. C'mon, let me be all charming and win you that prize..." The game was a pretty simple set-up that involved shooting water into the mouth of a plastic Grimm head. A few other students were also lining up to take their best shot, but already Velvet could see Coco getting in her proper stance. She wasn't doing this for fun. She was in it to win, and that meant she'd already succeeded. Coco adjusted her glasses, lined up her shot, and when the bell rang started firing immediately.

Naturally she made the target long before anyone else, and she immediately pointed out the large stuffed rabbit. Coco passed it to Velvet with a flourish. "A bunny for my bunny~" Velvet gave it a tight squeeze, then leaned in to peck her on the cheek.

"Who'd ever guess you could be such a massive dork?"

"Our little secret. C'mon." They linked their hands once again and headed off into the distance away from the festival. It didn't take Velvet too long to figure out where they were headed. By the time they reached the cliff, the sun was hanging lower in the horizon, sinking below some of the distant mountains. "Alright, shutterbug. Let's see if you can take a selfie with me, while getting the sunset in the background."

Velvet decided to use her scroll, figuring it might make a nice profile picture or something. Just as she had finished framing everything and was about to take the picture when Coco carefully tipped her chin with two fingers and directed her into a kiss. Her brain stalled for a second or two before she finally remembered to actually record the moment for posterity. With the moment saved, she slipped her scroll back into her pocket and set the massive stuffed rabbit on the ground, leaning into the kiss and letting it linger for as long as possible. Their first moment had been stolen from them, and Velvet wasn't going to let that happen again.


	5. Two Points for Honesty

With the whole 'blossoming romance' thing, everyone's plans prior to the festival kind of changed. Ruby was going to hang out with her dad and Yang wanted to hit up some club or something. Instead, they ended up spending a lot more time in the dorm or wandering around campus and just generally trying to process everything. It had been enough of a pleasant shock for Weiss when Ruby had returned her affections. But then they caught Yang and Blake in the middle of their whole thing. And Blake admitted that she was feeling some serious pangs of jealousy toward her and Ruby, in both directions, and even Yang said something that should never be repeated for polite ears about Weiss and...

So, team activities had became the norm. Poor Ruby at least tried to pretend that it was all bonding exercises to make them more coordinated. But the simple truth was that they were all sort of going out now – well, obviously the sisters refrained, for numerous reasons. Weiss still wasn't sure how to respond to kissing Blake while Ruby was around, or Blake kissing Ruby while she was around, for that matter!

But she was trying, and that was the important thing, right? Right. So instead Weiss took over the role of planning some of their activities, including badgering everyone to go see as many matches as they possibly could. "Every team is a potential combatant we might have to face down the line. We need to be prepared! Who knows what helpful intel we might be able to pick up on just by seeing them." The reasoning was weak, but nobody really needed much of an excuse to keep hanging out together.

The current match involved their new friends – if Weiss could really call them that – Emerald, Mercury, and Cinder fighting off against some team too pathetic to even pay attention to. The thing that really had her full attention was the fourth teammate, some mystery girl that none of them had ever seen. According to Port and Oobleck over the loudspeakers, her name was Pistacia Harlequin. Hell of a name, but the poor dear had seemingly moved past her disability. She was quite agile, quick on the draw, always... smirking... Something about her rubbed Weiss the wrong way, like running into that annoying kid you used to know when you were both practically adults, and they were still just as terrible.

Weiss wasn't great at analogies.

That mattered little, because the central thesis remained the same. She glanced back and forth from one of her teammates to another then back out at the battlefield. Blake looked anxious, though she always looked like she had just seen something important. At least Yang seemed rather engaged as well, scowling ever so slightly. Ruby was a little too busy cheering on Emerald and Mercury, bless her heart, so Weiss reached over and gently nudged her arm. "Hey. Am I crazy? Or does that Pistacia girl look familiar? Like upsettingly familiar?"

"Um, I didn't want to say anything because it seemed rude. But I get a little pit in my stomach every time I look at her."

As they were talking, the fight was finished with a landslide victory, and Yang pushed to her feet, speaking through gritted teeth. "Anybody else see that?"

Blake stood next to her, looking concerned, resting a hand against her shoulder. "See what?"

"Her eyes changed. Just for a second. One brown, one pink..." Nobody else had a chance to respond before she stormed off toward the combatant exits down below. Weiss and the others exchanged glances before running off after her. All they could hope for at this point was keeping Yang from doing something violent. They really didn't need to become known as the team most consistently in the middle of one chaotic scenario after another. All they wanted right now were answers.

They finally caught up with Yang where she had cornered the mystery girl who was furiously making motions with her hands. A tiny switch inside Weiss' brain flipped over and she realized she was looking at Pistacia communicating. Something to the effect of 'what the hell are you talking about crazy lady?'

Not wanting to see one of her partners cave in a non-verbal girl's face just because she didn't talk, Weiss budged her way forward, shoving Yang aside and signing back to her. "Sorry about the crazy lady. She likes to hit things. A lot." Everyone stared at her for a moment, and even Pisatacia seemed a little surprised. "I'm a Schnee," she added out loud. "Daddy insisted I learn a bunch of languages, so I figured one of them might as well be actually useful."

The other girl started signing again, and it was difficult to keep up. "Wow, Emerald was right, you really are obnoxiously nice."

Weiss huffed and began signing more furiously as well. "I knew that girl wasn't as friendly as she appeared! And you! You're that girl! With the umbrella!"

"You're not dumb, I'll give you that. But if you think coming at me is going to change anything, you're way too late."

"Yeah, hi, um, the rest of us aren't as considerate as Weiss and don't know sign language. Care to fill us in?" Ruby poked her head around, raising a hand as though she were in class.

With a sigh, Pistacia retrieved her scroll and began typing into it with expert-level texting thumbs. A somewhat robotic voice started to emit from it. "You've got me four-to-one and you know who I am. Starting a rumble now would raise too much attention. And frankly, you all intrigue me. So what can I do for you?"

Any anger Yang had been showing was starting to fall away. "I... hadn't really thought it through that far..."

* * *

So it was that the four of them had inexplicably ended up hanging out with Neopolitan. It was weird and kind of tense but also strangely not... terrible? Blake was the one to get along with her best, surprisingly. They were bonding over stories of terrorism and debauchery from Blake's White Fang days.

Everyone was still itching to dig for information, but also understood that just asking outright might not lead to the best conclusion. Luckily for them, help sometimes came from the strangest of circumstances.

Since they didn't want Cinder and the others to catch them around the dorms, they opted to keep their distance from campus. They found some beautiful fields outside Beacon and made themselves at home in the fluffy grass. "Can I ask you a question? A more personal one? What's the story with you and Torchwick?" Blake had mostly been the one leading the conversation, and now Weiss was starting to see why. For all that she was normally the most quiet among them – not exactly a monumental task – when she spoke, she made it count.

Neo had proved to be relatively forthcoming with her information so far, and despite the sensitive nature of the inquiry, this was no different. Her thumbs were flying to type it all out. "I was pulling a con. He was pulling a heist. I think we immediately realized we were kindred souls. He's entertaining and funny and super smart. He likes how useful I am." She paused, staring off into the distance before hurrying to write more. "That sounded worse than it did in my head."

Blake smiled warmly and reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, causing the girl to flinch before realizing it wasn't... whatever she'd been expecting. "Honestly? That sounds a lot like the way things were with me and Adam. He was only ever complimentary about how excellent I was at fighting or how fast I was. Whenever I was a good asset to the White Fang. Like arm candy with swords."

Neo jumped to her feet suddenly and glared at them all, especially at Blake, reverting to using her hands to do her communication.

Weiss rushed to try and translate it all to the rest of them. "She says... 'Roman is nothing like that maniac. He's not always cruel, or a sociopath. He's just fond of chaos, like me. He has a really nice, sweet side too. I lived on the streets for years, wearing rags, eating scraps. Now I can do what I want, wear what I want, eat what I want.'" Weiss looked back at Blake, who was starting to get a little riled up herself.

"You know what I learned about people who have good sides? They also have bad sides. More often than not, their bad side is also their real side."

The girl's hands were flying now. "Ah, um... Neo, if you could just... 'He's a villain, what do you want from me. You expect me to feel some righteous indignation because he's violent sometimes?" Having to constantly study Neopolitan so closely, Weiss noticed that the girl's heterochromatic eyes were getting a little teary. "'God, you're all so good, aren't you? It's all anyone talks about! _Oh, Team RWBY, they uncovered a dust smuggling ring. Oh, those girls, they managed to avert a full-scale terrorist attack. They're sure to win the tournament._ You don't know a damn thing about my life.'"

Neopolitan turned away from them and there was some rather pathetic sniveling and she was obviously wiping at her eyes with her sleeves. Despite the verbal assault, even through Weiss' voice, no one was necessarily begrudging her for the anger. Blake carefully stood and moved closer to her, putting a hand at her shoulder again. "It's really painful... when you figure it out for the first time. I didn't have anyone, not at first. Then I got teamed up with a couple wackos and got a chance to see what it looks like when you have a partner who's interested in how you're doing. Who fights with you because they're passionate about something. Who forces you to slow down when you're running headlong into an oncoming wall." She sighed and pulled her hand back before it out-stayed its welcome. "Look, I'm not trying to tell you that you're absolutely in a terrible situation. But I hate seeing anything even vaguely similar to what I went through."

Neo spun around and managed to get out one quick fumbling 'thank you' gesture before throwing herself at Blake in an awkward vice-hug. Weiss and Blake made eye contact and she smirked softly. "She said-"

"Yeah, I think I got it..."

Eventually Neopolitan managed to get herself together, brushing herself off and attempting to not look like she'd just been crying. She glanced at Weiss and nodded before signing, slower this time in an attempt to make up for using the girl as her mouth-piece for a fight with Blake. Weiss nodded back and started in. "Neo says she's got 'a lot to tell us. We're going to need coffee, this could take a while.'"


	6. The New Underground

Roman may have been in jail, but many of his assets had yet to be discovered by the law. Neo already made herself at home in one of the more inconspicuous safe houses, meaning she wouldn't have to slum it at Beacon with her 'teammates'. After the big infodump with the others, Neopolitan made her way back to her temporary home, contemplating her next move. Against basically everyone's better judgment, she had requested a twelve hour moratorium on telling anyone else about what she'd shared. There was one last thing she needed to do.

Once she was certain that she was alone and no one had tried to follow her, she retrieved her scroll and sent a message to Emerald asking her companion to come meet her, by herself. Granted, you didn't say something like that without meeting a bit of resistance.

 **greenrock:** wat? neo i know were the bad guys

 **greenrock:** but theres already enough clandestine shit going on

 **greenrock:** we don't really need to add to the suspicion levels

 **Me:** Would you just come already?

 **greenrock:** thats what she said heyyo ;D

 **Me:** Yes, Emerald, that is literally what she said. Just get over here.

Content that Emerald was definitely on her way, Neopolitan got changed into some comfy clothing and waited patiently for her to show up by screwing around with her scroll. Emerald strolled right through the door without bothering to knock, which was pretty much the norm at this point. "Alright, can you please tell me now why you thought it was so important that we meet in secret?"

Neopolitan began signing, grateful that at least Emerald had learned how to do it at one point so she had someone to talk to comfortably. "Something big is about to go down. I felt like, out of everyone, you deserved to know."

Emerald flopped onto the couch next to her with a cocked eyebrow. "Neo, that is precisely what is happening. We're plotting and planning to do some really nasty stuff. That's the entire point."

"No no, not that." She shook her head, having to force herself to not sign too fast just yet. "I... I ran into Team RWBY yesterday. Well, I say I ran into them. They cornered me. I couldn't have fought them all off, and weirdly enough they just wanted to talk. And I know we're all sick of hearing about it, but they really are good people."

Emerald rolled her eyes, not surprisingly unconvinced. "You're right, I don't want to hear that. Good people are the last thing we should be associating ourselves with."

"I don't mean it like that. I mean good in the way _we_ would prefer to define good. People who _get it_ , you know? Dead mom, absentee mom, abusive controlling parents, super abusive ex boyfriend...All this stuff they've gone through and they still think the world is something worth fighting for."

Her visitor scoffed, and ultimately Neo knew she couldn't really blame her. "Who knew you could develop Stockholm Syndrome in the course of a few hours. God, girl, what did they do to you?"

She huffed softly, hands moving more furiously now. "They listened, Em. The irony doesn't escape me that very few people in my life ever take the time to listen. Not Cinder, not Mercury, not even Roman, the one person you would think might be interested to hear what I have to say."

Emerald was silent for a moment or two. Finally she responded, this time using her own hands to sign as well. "Okay, well I'm listening now."

"When I say something is going to happen, I'm not talking about the plan. I don't know everything, but I told what I did know to the girls. In about ten hours, they're going to bring that information to anyone that will listen, at which point everything will combust."

"Are you nuts? After all we did? Forgetting for a moment that Cinder and Roman would absolutely obliterate you, anyone with the power to do something about it would also want to see the two of us hanged for it." Emerald made some good points, but the fact of the matter was that she'd already told the team what she could, and she was basically ready to forget Roman ever existed.

Neopolitan wasn't dumb enough to think that she could just get away with everything she'd helped to do, and she was fully aware that her offer was hardly the most appealing one in the world. "Not if we comply and help them deal with the others. We won't be heroes, but at this point I would take being a mercenary for the state over being a prisoner. I got started doing all this because I was alone and because Roman made things exciting and interesting. But now they've gone way past that and straight into crazytown. I didn't sign up for killing a bunch of people, and I'm starting to realize just how bad I am for thinking 'following orders' was a legitimate excuse..."

"You're... really serious, aren't you?" Neo hoped that Emerald was coming around finally. She was at least not trying to joke this time. "Honestly, what's the deal? What about that conversation so drastically changed your worldview that you decided you just had to do this?"

"It was the moment I realized that I don't actually matter to the others. I got stuck on this one sickening thought that kept replaying in my head. What happens if I screw up? What happens when I stop being useful? What happens if my purpose becomes sacrificing myself? I'm not interested in finding any of that out the hard way. And I... I don't want you to either." She added that last part much more hesitantly with quicker hand movements.

Neo honestly expected that Emerald was going to keep on giving her a difficult time. Instead, she watched as her friend – was it okay to use that word? - looked away at some spot on the wall, perhaps processing it all. "When we attacked the fall maiden, I remember thinking it was still all mostly fun and games. Right up until the moment when Cinder summoned an awful gross bug from her hand and latched onto the maiden's face with this horrible black substance. I waited a little while to ask Mercury if he was at all horrified by it. The guy was completely unphased." Emerald was wringing her hands slightly, still staring hard at the wall. "Sometimes, I'm really glad that we screwed up and she only got half of that girl's powers. Can you imagine the kind of hell we would have across Vale if she could do whatever she wanted?"

It had been uncomfortable enough for Neopolitan to reach the point she was at now. It felt even stranger to try and guide someone else through it. She reached out and shook the other girl's shoulder gently. "Hey, remember how worried Cinder was about that one single huntsman showing up and ruining everything? Picture that, times a hundred. Her powers will be taken away, she'll be tossed in a cell right alongside Roman. Mercury can either be arrested or he can run back off wherever he came from."

"Okay, so... why me then? I'm hardly a saint, and I'm still not exactly fond of all your new friends." She paused, and then a kind of playful smirk bloomed across her face and she snickered, gently pushing her shoulder. "Oh my god, it's because you think I'm cute. Just admit it." Emerald winked at her and began to laugh.

Something about the accusation made Neo feel a little more awkward and she fumbled her signing for a moment. "I don't know, because you've always been nice to me I guess? Because you know what it's like to grow up on the streets, and to want just one person who wants you around without wanting something from you in return?" She paused for a moment, face growing a little hotter as she fiddled with her hands, searching for her words. "I mean you are cute, but that's really beside the point."

Emerald seemed satisfied, judging by that smug smile she had. "You know, you've put me in a very awkward position tonight, Neo. I mean, all this stuff on my shoulders, I can't just go back to Beacon and pretend like everything is okay. Can you imagine me trying to play it cool around Cinder?"

"Look at this place. There's plenty of room for you, Emerald. I wouldn't dare ask you to spend a night in the dorms under these circumstances."

Emerald began to laugh brightly and reached out to ruffle her hair. "Holy crap, chill out, I'm just messing with you. I'll crash on the couch or whatever." Her hand stayed right where it was, then suddenly began to gently rake through Neo's hair, that smirk growing slightly. Neopolitan was used to being the one with the insufferable smile, but at the moment, Em had her beat. "Or your bed. Wherever I end up collapsing I suppose..."

"I can no longer tell when you're serious and when you're kidding," Neo signed at her with her most deadpan face – even if in reality she was maybe freaking out just a little bit.

"I'm a multitasker! I can do both at the same time," Emerald said, punctuating the point with both verbal and signed language. Neo's head cocked to the side, completely uncertain as to what exactly that was supposed to mean. For her part, Em just gave an understanding laugh and pulled her in close, setting Neo in her lap and wrapping her arms around her stomach.

It wasn't as if this was the first time the two of them had been mildly flirtatious. But they had never actually done anything with it before. So it was a tiny bit unexpected to have Emerald suddenly being so weirdly affectionate with her now. "So you're serious and kidding."

"You seem more complacent than I was expecting you to be, if I'm honest."

"Yeah, well, before today I wasn't thinking about just letting Roman rot in jail or betraying Cinder. But sometimes shit happens and you end up doing something unexpected. So." She gave a silent laugh and looked back at Emerald for a second. "I guess maybe being around all those dorks at Beacon had something to do with it too. I mean, seriously, can you imagine? Like, you and your sister just start dating these two other girls, who are also dating each other, and both of you?"

"Right? If nothing else, let that be the proof that those four are not to be messed with. You take out one of them, you have two, if not three, angry girlfriends ready to destroy you." Emerald laughed brightly, and the way Neo was positioned, it was kind of a delightful shared feeling. "To hell with that, I'm choosing the obviously safer option here. Also, the much comfier option."

Neo flushed and found she couldn't really think of anything intelligent to say, so she opted to return to her old ways and went silent for the time being. Instead, she reached for the remote to her television, turning it on and putting it to a station that played old movies. Something about samurai was playing, but Neo had already started falling asleep by that point. It had been one hell of a day and tomorrow was likely going to be pretty hellish in its own right.

To her surprise, Neopolitan came to a little while later in her bed, Emerald laying nearby. Thankfully, the other girl hadn't tried to change her clothes or anything, but even being moved from the couch to here was a tiny bit embarrassing. Emerald was looking at something on her scroll, then noticed that she had woken up and smiled warmly. "Go back to sleep, you look exhausted."

She attempted to reply but her hands weren't really signing too well at the moment so she just made some vague motions in Emerald's direction, then went to get changed into her pajamas. Once appropriately attired, she came back, tossing a spare set of clothes to Emerald, then burrowing under the covers. Once the other girl had changed and joined her in the bed, Neo figured at this point she might as well just cave to whatever was going on and snuggled up next to her, eyes already starting to drift closed.

Technically, she felt like she could at least trust RWBY to do the right thing in a moral sense. But only Emerald really seemed capable of being trustworthy on all other fronts. Neo was about to do something incredibly stupid and dangerous, and she was going to need all the help she could get.


	7. The Captain

It had been a... strange day.

Marigold Arc, still adjusting somewhat to the overly aggressive way that everyone accepted her as she was, had hoped to catch up with Ruby after she and her team absolutely swept their first victory. But the girls were moving quickly and she rattled off an incredibly speedy and thinly-veiled excuse before running off with the others, as well as two mysterious students from Haven.

Not that it mattered much, their own match was coming up soon and she had to get over to the coliseum to get ready.

Their match didn't improve her mood any. Yes, they had technically won, but it was one hell of a mess to get there. Honestly, Mari assumed up until the last few moments that they weren't going to win, and only Nora's smash attack managed to win them the victory over Team BRNZ. They were an organized team who clearly had a game-plan going in, and likely would have succeeded if MRPN hadn't gotten the edge with that storm on the mountain.

Back in the locker room, Mari was sitting on a bench, head in her hands, as she ran the battle over and over again in her head. Her leadership skills had never been stellar to begin with, but this was the rude wake-up call that had her questioning Ozpin's judgment in making her the captain of the team. The bench creaked slightly and she looked up to see Pyrrha smiling at her with all the comfort she could muster. "Marigold, why are you so disappointed? We won!"

"Yeah, barely~" chimed Nora, who was swiftly grabbed by the hand by Ren, dragging her off for parts unknown.

"Come on, I'm craving cotton candy."

"Should we stay as a team?"

"Nora. I'm _craving_. Cotton _candy_."

"Oh. Oh! Cotton _candy_. Right. Riiiiiight."

The two disappeared, leaving a space of silence in the room that was somehow both comfortable and uncomfortable. Mari didn't particularly want to have this conversation, but she also understood that it was kind of necessary. "I guess I thought... coming out and being bold would make me more confident. But I'm just as pathetic as before."

Pyrrha's lack of an immediate response didn't exactly do much for Mari's self-confidence. "May I make an observation?"

Mari gave a sharp little laugh, not meaning to be such a jerk about all this. She was just having trouble feeling positive. "Hah, um, go for it."

"You are quite skillful with your shield, and you are at your best when you fight defensively. Yet you often charge ahead with the rest of us. Why is that?"

"Oh, well... A leader has to be able to keep up with her team right?"

Pyrrha smiled patiently and sat up a bit taller. "I think perhaps you are still too concerned with doing what you think you should, instead of what's best for you. If the three of us are all charging, then it seems like it would be that much better for you to take the defensive position. From there, you can analyze the enemy and issue orders to the rest of us."

The advice was great, but it also felt like it would have been more useful for literally anybody else. "Sometimes I still think you should have been our captain."

Surprisingly, Pyrrha began to laugh rather brightly, immediately shaking her head in response. "Oh goodness no! I was practically a child star, and at this point the spotlight just does not appeal to me. I'm much happier being a regular huntress. Besides, I know you don't see it in yourself, but you're not only tactical, you're also flexible. Perhaps it feels like a hollow victory to let Nora knock out everyone in a single swipe. But you showed a fantastic display of instinct! And I saw how easily you conveyed the idea, you didn't even have to say anything." Pyrrha paused there for a moment, finally turning her gaze back toward Mari. "I know that Ruby is your best friend, and it is natural to want to emulate someone you care about. But I don't think there's any need for us to have team attacks with clever names, not if it doesn't do us any good out there. Even if... I thought there was something kind of charming about 'Arkos'. Like a celebrity couple name or something..."

Mari gave another gentle laugh, starting to feel maybe a tiny bit better. "Well, sorry about that. I certainly wouldn't want you to get confused because of the name. Maybe simplify, just call it shield bash or whatever. I hope I didn't give you the wrong impression or anything." Marigold knew instinctually that she was covering her tracks maybe just a little bit too emphatically here. Pyrrha, even if you took away the legend and the combat and everything, she was still a shockingly warm and kind person. She was an amazon without any of the stereotypes about their mood or their behavior. You couldn't help but admire her. But Mari was still worried about the effect that her coming out and transitioning would have on her life. Even if she had once or twice noticed Pyrrha admiring her or being overly kind to her, that had been to a different person in a different life.

Surprisingly, Pyrrha completely shrugged it off, showing no frustration about the implications of it all. "Oh! You have nothing to apologize for! Honestly, I would consider it a compliment if people assumed we were together. Hm, is that too strong a word? Well, at any rate. It would be... natural? Normal? My words are failing me Marigold, please stop me."

As much as she would have loved to save her sinking friend, the truth was that Mari wasn't sure what to say. A compliment? Normal, natural? "I would, Pyrrha, but let's face it, I'm kind of a socially awkward mess sometimes. I don't even know how to dig myself out of trouble. So maybe it would be best if you just... kept being honest."

It was a rare thing to see Pyrrha looking anything other than happy or confident, but her brow was knitted upwards, her hands wringing anxiously. "Sometimes we do things without... without really knowing why. From my first day here at Beacon, I found myself drawn to you. Perhaps at the time I just wanted to help you succeed, or simply because I thought you were handsome. I'm not immune to superficiality. Over time, the more I saw you grow, the more I was impressed by the sheer size of your heart. Whatever your name, whatever your gender... I'm... Well, I'm fond of you, Marigold Arc. And maybe I feel a bit foolish for not just summoning my courage and admitting this sooner."

Needless to say, that wasn't exactly what she expected. Mari smiled, if a bit nervously and gently lay a hand on top of hers. "Yeah, well... I guess I'm pretty fond of you too, Pyrrha Nikos. Maybe we're both a bit guilty of not speaking honestly. So... Arkos?"

Pyrrha leaned in to kiss her cheek, laughing softly. "Arkos."

* * *

Ren and Nora were thoroughly enjoying their walk around the fairgrounds, even if the both of them were anxious to know if their clueless teammates had made even the tiniest bit of progress in Operation: Just Friggin Smooch Already. Nora was enjoying an enormous cotton candy all to herself while Ren treated himself to kettle corn. Ren popped another kernel in his mouth gracefully. "I'm telling you, it's going to take them all year if not significantly longer. I love them, but my god are they hopeless."

Nora chuckled and talked through a large wad of colored sugar. "I dunnooooo, I think they're closer than you believe. And once they're together, maybe you can actually help wingman for your bestest friend?"

"I mean, I won't not help you. But it's going to be kind of hard considering you don't even have a target yet."

A strange faunus girl covered in all the colors of the rainbow rollerbladed past them, eating an equally vibrant and colorful popsicle. Nora's face bloomed into a terrifying grin. "Target acquired."


	8. Architects & Engineers

Penny stepped up onto the coliseum dais with Ciel at her side.

Her partner had arguably made a mistake when she chose to say that her battlefield capabilities were minimal. Even if she was willing to stand on the sidelines in a passive capacity, Penny still wanted to experience everything that life had in store for her. And with the tournament underway, that included fighting alongside a partner. And to make that happen, the two had to train. Ciel, as it turned out, was actually quite scary. Just because a human lacked muscle mass didn't mean she wasn't able to do some very impressive things.

Of course, the first obvious point was Ciel's brain. She was not only analytical, but a fast thinker too. She could concoct several strategies after seeing an opponent attack, and she was also able to amend them on the fly.

Her semblance was nothing to scoff at either. Chronomancy wasn't nearly as omnipotent as it sounded. But Ciel had developed it a great deal more in lieu of her combat prowess. Not only could she alter the flow of time around herself to complete more actions faster, she could also change an enemy's perception of time until they felt like they were moving through molasses.

Despite her lack of confidence, she even showed a level of competency with her weapon, Terribile Pescecane. It was a combination tonfa and bolt-action rifle, at its most dangerous when Ciel carefully applied Dust to it. And Ciel knew how to use Dust.

Needless to say, they both felt adequately prepared for their first battle. Even when they got a good look at their opponents, local team CRDL, they worried little. CRDL was a rather large collective of buff males, but neither Penny nor Ciel felt an ounce of fear from them. As they approached and took their place, Ciel spoke softly to herself under her breath. "Let me see... Lark has a weak knee, Winchester is keeping his shoulder stiff, Bronzewing is a known showman. Thrush will be more difficult. Still, if I pattern my attack correctly, this fight should be over in no time."

Penny turned from the opposite team to look at her partner with a slight glare. "Ciel! There's no fun in destroying them immediately. We ought to take them on as equals, and win this battle with honor!"

Team CRDL obviously heard her and they began to laugh uproariously. "Two little girls against the four of us? This is going to be a slaughtering ground! What could you possibly do?"

Penny was discovering that she really did experience a much wider spectrum of emotions than she was ever thought capable of. At the moment, she was feeling 'anger'. Her fists clenched slightly, and careful ears could hear the sound of straining metal. "Ciel, I have chosen to alter my stance on the matter. Let us show no mercy..."

Roulette wheels began spinning, landing on grasslands and forest. The backdrop mattered little. The buzzer sounded and instantly Ciel disappeared from view. Over the speakers, the sound of Port's voice filled the crowd in on what was happening. "Amazing, ladies and gentlemen! There have been rumors of Ms. Soleil's ability to alter her own timestream, but to see it in person is quite amazing indeed!"

"That's correct! Though it may appear as if she has disappeared, the truth of the matter is far more interesting. She is moving too fast for any of us to see her properly. She might appear anywhere at any time."

While waiting for her partner to make a move, Penny retrieved the swords from her back and left them hovering threateningly behind her. She watched with a certain amount of delight as the members of CRDL began to make a formation in a ring with their backs to each other. The mind-games had done their job and they were beginning to lose their confidence.

It was a blur, but Penny could just make out what happened next. Each fighter received an imperceptible attack out of the blue, causing them to stumble and fall into one another. Her fingers twitched and she sent out her blades, wrapping the nearly invisible cords around and around the four men, bundling them up all neat and tidy. One more flick of her hand tugged the cords and sent all four of them flying out of the ring and into the force field wall, depleting their auras and scoring a ring-out at the same time. Ciel appeared next to Penny an instant later, and the two clasped hands, giggling and jumping as though they hadn't just become the most terrifying duo in all of Beacon for one brief, beautiful moment.

"Absolutely stunning! A sweeping victory in the span of a single minute! We haven't had a win like that since the thirty second Vytal Festival. Truly, a sight to see. This round goes to Ms. Polendina and Ms. Soleil." Oobleck's praise was sweet indeed. Penny and Ciel stayed linked at one hand, turning outward to wave to all the cheering students.

* * *

Coming out of the combatant exit, Penny spotted Ruby and her teammate Blake standing there, presumably waiting for them. "Ruby!" she cried out gleefully before tackling her to the ground in a tight hug. Yes, this was most definitely a pleasant and warm, fuzzy feeling. But with one of her girlfriends standing nearby, not to mention Ciel, she decided to end the embrace before it went on too long. The android popped up to her feet with a gigantic grin. "What can I do for you, my friends?"

Ruby was a tad slower to get to her feet, looking winded from the unexpected tackle. "I wanted to come congratulate you on that awesome win! That was so incredible!"

"And Ciel, the way you used your semblance is truly something special. Honestly, I think the two of you have a real shot at winning this thing." Penny hadn't exactly talked too much to Blake before, so it was a delight to see her getting along with Ciel. It made sense, the two of them weren't so different. And it didn't escape Penny's thought processes that letting the two of them meet meant she could take more of Ruby's time and not feel bad about it.

Ciel gave a short bow with a pleased smile. "All thanks should go to Penny. She was the one who helped train with me. It gave me a much needed confidence boost."

The four of them walked off together, Penny next to Ruby and the other two continuing to get to know each other. "Your first match was spectacular as well. I can see that recent events have helped you find your stride as a group."

Ruby's face went a deep red and she laughed bashfully, rubbing the back of her neck. "Ahahah, well, I guess it didn't hurt our performance or whatever. Seems like the two of you are managing just fine without romance, though." Penny's face erupted in a bright grin. Before she even had a chance to say anything, Ruby gasped and gave her shoulder a friendly punch. "Pennyyyyyyy! You dog! I told you that you had a heart in there! That's amazinnngggg! Does she know about the whole... beep boop thing?"

"Oh yes, that was actually a part of how it... happened. Besides, it always felt so wrong to not tell her the truth about myself. She has been very interested in learning more about me. The other day, she insisted on examining my..." She paused as a few circuits fired, then misfired, then re-fired. "I should not be telling you about that."

Eager to switch topics, Ruby did her best to completely ignore where that conversation was going. "Uh, so! How did it happen anyways? Oooh, was it a long and blossoming thing, and you finally confessed to each other in the moonlight? So romantic~!"

"No, no, nothing like that. Apparently Ciel thought I was quite the airhead, and I must confess I thought she was rather... boring. The whole conversation emerged because-" She stopped once more, circuits freaking out again. "Oh dear this conversation has so many pitfalls. But being human involves a great many awkward situations. So perhaps it would be best if I-"

"Penny! It's alright, just say it. I'm sure it's fine."

Ciel and Blake were beginning to catch up to them and Penny was finding familiar feelings rising up, that panicked desire to get very far away. "Is everything alright?" Ciel came up and took her hand, looking concerned now, and the kindness of it all was terribly overwhelming.

She watched as Blake came up alongside Ruby and slid an arm around her. If her friend could be willing to open herself up enough to be with two people at once, then perhaps it was not the worst thing in the world after all? "It was after we parted ways the other night. You had been telling me about how close you had become with your team and I felt... bad. I wanted to feel good, and I did, but I also did not! Ciel helped me to realize that I was jealous. And I was angry with myself for attempting to lay claim to something that wasn't mine. I'm sorry, Ruby. And you too, Blake. Weiss as well."

"Oh, Penny..." The android girl wasn't entirely certain she liked the sympathetic tone, but there wasn't much she could do about it.

Surprisingly, it was Blake who spoke up first, looking far from upset. "When I heard Ruby and Weiss the other night, I was worried that I had missed out on something and lost a chance to be happy. Yang reminded me that our happiness doesn't have to be difficult, or come at some kind of price. I can't speak for the others, but it's not like this is a huge surprise. She's always talking about you. And it's not an upset. We understand that Ruby can be... magnetic."

Ruby suddenly broke out in snickering, breaking the tension somewhat. Everyone stared at her in confusion, and it took a few moments for her to get past the laughter to actually speak. "All the more reason to not let me anywhere near her then! Cuz... Cuz I'm magnetic! Get it?" Ciel and Penny both began to laugh politely, Blake just rolled her eyes and smirked. "Ohhh, everyone loves my jokes, they're the best... Um... Anyway... I think Blake said it good. I'm happy that you like me, and... I like you too! So there's nothing to worry about!"

Blake gently broke away from Ruby and motioned to Ciel. "Come on, we should give the lovebirds some time alone. Tell me more about that book you're reading, it sounds fascinating."

Penny and Ruby stood there some time in awkward silence. "Uh, so, I suppose that pretty much clears everything up then! Hah, clear as mud..."

She bounced a little on the balls of her feet and looked around them. "Yes. Though I confess I expected to feel somewhat different than this. I'm very... tingly and... anxious?"

"That's normal. You get used to it." Ruby said cheerfully before moving in and hugging her tightly. "You're comfy for an android, you know that?"

"Yes, Ciel had similar comments on the subject. That is not an uncomfortable topic to bring up, is it?"

She laughed again, squeezing her once more before letting go and taking her hand. "Only as awkward as it feels for me to tell you that Blake likes to flirt by talking with pretty girls about books. Now come on, it's been a long day and I'm starving."


	9. Hercules

After the meeting with Ozpin and Glynda, the girls finally managed to come to a conclusion about who should move on to the doubles round in the tournament. With some rigorous debate and voting, it was decided that Yang and Weiss would be the ones to represent RWBY. Ruby took off to go catch Penny's match with Blake accompanying her, and Emerald and Neopolitan were instructed to remain behind for further discussion.

Yang gave a stretch as she and Weiss stepped out into the bright sunshine. "Well princess, that leaves just you and me. I feel like doin' something. Got any ideas?"

Honestly, she was sort of expecting her teammate to choose going off on her own. A number of their formed relationships made sense. But she and Weiss had so little in common that it hardly felt as if the two of them were really what you could call 'dating'. Granted, Yang wasn't opposed to the concept of it. Weiss was pretty as they came, and there was a lot of danger compacted into that tiny girl. Like a particularly well-dressed wasp. But to her surprise, Weiss didn't seem at all bothered by the concept of spending time together. "If the two of us are going to be taking on the next round, I think I would prefer to go work out and make sure I'm in peak shape. Mind coming along as my workout buddy?"

"Hell yes, let's do it! Team freezerburn!" She held out her hand for a high five, legitimately expecting that Weiss would turn her down. Instead, the girl leapt and smacked her hand as hard as she could with a little cry of delight. Perhaps this was something they had in common after all – a love of combat. Blake and Ruby liked combat as a means to an end, ending evil for the greater good. But she and Weiss were happy to fight simply for the fun of it, or the glory. That was a comforting thought.

* * *

Their first stop was heading back to the dorm to get changed into something more workout appropriate. Despite rooming together for some time now, something felt... different? It was just the two of them, and rather than the usual lack of decorum that tended to permeate the situation, Yang found herself giving a lot of visual real estate to the wall instead of looking anywhere in Weiss' general vicinity. They talked little, mostly discussion very boring topics like which exercises they needed to do in order to properly prepare for the coming fight.

Turning around when they were both dressed didn't really yield any better results. It was rude to stereotype, but Weiss really kinda did dress like a rich girl, even going to the gym. Fitted tank-top, zip-up track jacket, and of course, yoga pants. Fancy yoga pants, which in this case meant her form was really nicely outlined. For her part, Yang stuck to shorts and a grody t-shirt and she couldn't have felt more insanely out of her league if she tried. She turned back away from her and fumbled for a band from her dresser to pull her hair back into a ponytail.

Perhaps if Yang had spent two seconds looking at Weiss' face instead of her ass, she may have noticed the fact that the heiress was blushing as well.

* * *

Once they actually got to the gym, it wasn't as if things got any better.

"Where do you think you're going, missie? We can't just dive in, head first! You should always stretch before a workout," Weiss chided her as Yang attempted to go straight for the weights. That tone might have been embarrassing enough, but then Weiss had to go and prove her proficiency at stretching her body in some very impressive ways. All the while, Yang had to keep fighting a constant battle between looking at the other girl often enough to not seem suspicious while still not leering at her.

The yoga pants, it seemed, were not just for show.

Still, the anxiety was getting to her and she bounced in place a few times. "Okay okay okay, I'm limber already, jeez. Can we do something more engaging now?"

Weiss giggled and motioned for Yang to lead the way. "Alright, go for it."

Yang immediately made her way to a pull-down weight machine and got seated. "Load me up, princess. Need to put some work in my pythons."

"Jeez, give me a second. How much do you think you can do?"

She hooked her hands around the bar and gave a little chuckle. Between the unresolved tension she was feeling at the moment and the building desire to show off, Yang figured she might as well have at least a little fun with this experience. "Why don't you choose one and we'll see how close you are?" She could hear the familiar clinking noise of a pin being removed and re-inserted, pausing a moment to let Weiss step back, then gave the bar a test pull. She did five reps without a single problem before looking back at her with a snarky grin. "You insult me, Schnee. Try again."

They repeated this process a few more times, with Weiss setting a new weight and Yang moving it without trouble. Finally she seemed to find a comfortable setting and did another twenty reps, actually giving a few grunts of effort. Weiss came up beside her and shamelessly wrapped her hands around her arm muscles with a very impressed look on her face. "You're a beast, you know that?"

"Once upon a time, I would have thought you meant that as an insult." It was a little easier to just deflect things with humor. That way she didn't have to think about Weiss touching other muscles. "What did we finally settle on anyway?"

"One fifty..."

"Hah! Still got it."

Weiss withdrew her hands, and Yang quickly started lifting again just to avoid asking her to put them back or something equally embarrassing. "I mean, I know that fighting hand to hand can use a lot of strength, but still, I'm incredibly impressed, Yang. Maybe even a little jealous."

Even after all this time, knowing that Weiss wasn't the invincible beauty that she showed to the world, this still surprised Yang. She wanted to be understanding, but she also wasn't about to let her talk down about herself either. "I mean, yeah, nobody can top me when it comes to these guns. But all that dancing and everything? You got legs like * _blaow*_ , y'know? Come on!" Without warning she took Weiss' hand and dragged her over to another machine, guiding her to sit down and demonstrate her leg strength. "Here, I'll low-ball it just to make sure."

Once again they repeated the process, this time with positions swapped. From her spot, Yang was able to see Weiss' legs, not meaning to be a complete creeper but kinda ending up that way regardless. It was only when she pushed the locking pin into the 300 pound marker that she could see Weiss starting to visible push herself more. "Ugh... I'm so rusty... This is embarrassing..."

"Three hundred is rusty?

Weiss pushed through a few more repetitions before sitting upright and looking over at her. "I specialized _en pointe_. Your legs have to be completely and utterly flawless to balance all your weight on your toes."

Yang couldn't help it, sometimes these things came to her so naturally. She reached out and put a hand that she hoped was comforting on Weiss' leg, offering her most winning smile. "Hey. You're still flawless. Okay?"

* * *

Somehow, they actually managed to push past the weirdness and continued to work out at a more normal pace without quite so much showboating. Though when they went for a run around the track, Yang chose to force herself consistently ahead of Weiss so she didn't end up staring at her ass or anything. However, what she hadn't realized was that this put her in a perfect position to be stared at herself. Even roughing up the punching bags wasn't entirely without its pitfalls. All the noises of effort Weiss made as she tried to improve her hand-to-hand skills were... well... they put images in Yang's head. And even if technically they were dating, somehow she still felt gross and wrong doing that.

After all, Weiss was a princess, daughter of the prestigious Schnee family. She belonged with someone like Ruby who thought the world of her, or Blake who would treat her so sweetly. Yang was a brute and a powerhouse and would undoubtedly never really be meant to be paired with someone like her.

All of this was still floating around her head as they made their way back to the dorms, loud and swirling and distracting enough that she didn't even realize Weiss had taken her hand. "You're quiet all of a sudden. You're not that exhausted are you?"

"Oh, no, just... thinking ahead to our next match. Trying to think of tactics and-" They had just walked through the door of their room and closed it behind them when suddenly Weiss was pressed up against her, kissing hungrily. She leapt and wrapped her arms around her neck, and Yang caught her thighs reflexively to hold her in place. It was a major shock to the system to find that someone so dainty could be so desperate and raw. Every time she thought the kiss was coming to an end, it turned out that the other girl was just grabbing a bit of air before coming at her again.

Not really able to see and somewhat distracted at the moment, it took a bit of maneuvering to get the both of them over to Weiss' bed – the most reasonable option in the moment – to lay the girl down and climb on top of her, speedily resuming the kissing. As much as she would have enjoyed doing this forever, things were heading in a very... specific direction. And no matter what, she still didn't want Ruby and Blake walking in on them like this. If it was going to happen, it should have been something more communal and special.

So she pulled back and sat up a little, looking at Weiss, still having difficulty understanding what had happened. Had she really been so dopey to miss the obvious? "I didn't realize that... well... I mean. There you go. Here we are. All that." Very succinct, very clear.

The other girl actually began to giggle, not doing anything to improve the atmosphere. "Well duh... I mean jeez, look at you. All tall and fluffy hair and... How did I never notice your muscles before today?"

"Yeah, you're no slouch yourself there, Schnee," she said lightly before laying down next to her on the bed and snuggling up happily. "Sorry, um, for putting a stop to things here. I just... feel like maybe we ought to wait. Y'know, for the others. Plus, me and Ruby still have a lot to discuss before we get into that kind of situation at the same time."

"Don't worry about it. I doubt it comes as much of a surprise, the girl who spent all her time studying and doing extracurriculars doesn't have a lot of romantic experience. It's all still a bit new to me. This was um... this was honestly kind of a first? Being patient sounds smart, for multiple reasons."

As if to vindicate her, Yang and Weiss were alerted to the sound of the door opening, Ruby and Blake walking in and both looking rather pleased with themselves. "Hey guys. We didn't interrupt a nap or anything did we? You can't be overdoing it at the gym or you won't have enough energy for the actual fight," Ruby chided them playfully.

Yang chuckled and sat up, giving a little stretch. "Worry not little sister. I have energy to spare. How was Penny's match? Did you guys have a good time?"

The two shared a look, both laughing bashfully. "Yes, the match was excellent. A clean defeat in the span of maybe a minute." Blake looked at Ruby one more time before just shrugging. "We spent some time with Penny and her lovely partner Ciel. I believe Ruby has found herself a third girlfriend."

The shorter girl gasped, perhaps a bit overdramatically. "Blake! It's not like it's anything so serious! She's just... nice. And soft. And... maybe she kissed me. As if you weren't busy staring at the 'lovely' Ciel the whole time anyway."

Weiss began to laugh, mostly from the sheer absurdity of it all. "This day just keeps on getting stranger and stranger." Punctuating things, all of their scrolls went off simultaneously with a message from Emerald.

"hey i know this is sudden, but were taking down cinder 2nite, u in?"


	10. Lightning Rod

Before today, Emerald would have been thrilled to be in Ozpin's office. There were so many secrets and hidden goodies that could have been unearthed. Probably more than a few treasures that would have netted her enough money to purchase her own private island.

But everything was different now, and the only way that Emerald could maintain her sanity was to never think about just how monumentally things had changed in such a short span of time. She was a good guy now – or at least not a bad guy. She was in the office with Neo, team RWBY, as well as Goodwitch and Ironwood. It was awkward enough talking directly about everything that she and Neopolitan had been involved in. When you actually put it all together in a bulleted list, she really did start to sound like a terrible human being. Lots of theft, occasional assault, a couple instances of mental manipulation.

Things took a turn when the subject of what the three of them had done on that lonely road nearly a year ago came up. Ozpin went from stoic to... the only word that came to mind was 'dark'. The other girls were instructed to leave immediately, and his tone left no room for argument. They filed out in silence, and it hung in the air for a while until all the professors were certain that no one was listening in.

"I hope you understand the severity of what you took part in. That girl is still alive, but only barely. And it's clear that Cinder is dangerous enough, even with only half of the maiden's powers."

Emerald tensed up, not really a fan of being lectured. She knew full well what she had done, and she damn sure didn't like it. Especially now that she was dumping all this information right in their laps. She was in a greater danger than any of them, and she didn't have the combat chops to keep herself safe. Being told how foolish she was just poured salt in the wound.

Only the feeling of Neo's hand on her shoulder kept her centered, and her friend signed to her with a warm smile, "It's okay, just tell them. No point in backing down now."

Emerald sighed and pushed herself to sit up a little taller. "Yes. I know exactly what I did, which is why I'm here now. Not really gonna do me any good to start making excuses now. Maybe we can just focus on how we can make it right? Cinder and Merc are tough, but they're not invincible. We can help you."

Glynda pushed herself off the wall where she was leaning and looked down at them both seriously. "First things first, you can help us by staying in the tournament. If a team drops out without good reason, rumors will start to circulate, and that's how bad things get rolling. Second, you're helping us in a consultant capacity only. If we're going to bring in two wanted criminals, we'll do it by the books."

Emerald might have taken that news more in stride, but she could see Neo getting upset as well and figured if both of them were eager to do more, then maybe they would have a chance at really making things right. "No way, if there's going to be some kind of operation, we want in. They used both of us, and taking them down is just as much our business as it is yours!"

Ironwood was the one to speak up this time, perhaps even trying to cut the other two off. "Your semblances could be useful. But if you want to help, then you're going to play by some very strict rules, do you understand?" Both Ozpin and Glynda looked troubled by how quickly he was changing the script, but they also appeared unwilling to call him out on it.

She exchanged a quick glance with Neo who nodded confidently, then looked back to the general. "Understood. Um, sir."

"Good, then let's start discussing tactics."

* * *

It had taken a good deal more cajoling to convince the adults that the girls from RWBY could help. They were trying really hard to be all boring and responsible, but with the plan they'd devised so far, there was basically no reason not to have them around to support the fight. Add to that Ozpin, Glynda, Ironwood, the two of them, as well as some dude named Qrow and a stuck-up lady called Winter, they seemed to have amassed enough skillful warriors that they could take down Cinder and Mercury without too much trouble.

Ironwood tried to insist on bringing in his mechanical soldiers for the operation as well, but that was where everyone had to draw the line. It was already going to be hard enough to manipulate two minds into ignoring ten people, so Emerald was against it. And the others, knowing that Cinder had ways to hack into the security system, they didn't want to risk multiplying their adversaries just because Ironwood wanted to show off.

Team RWBY was shockingly quick to arrive once Emerald sent them the text, geared up and eager to make things right. The plan was fairly simple. Emerald was to get Cinder and Mercury into the empty coliseum, shielding everyone's presence from them until the attack could begin. Ruby and the other girls would focus their efforts on Mercury, armed with enough lightning Dust to overload his legs with electromagnetic energy.

Cinder was, of course, the real issue, which is why they were using the combined efforts of all the assembled professors and professionals to go against her. Emerald expected that once her part of things was done, she would probably be unable to help much. Altering one person's perceptions was difficult enough, and she was going to be doing it to two people at once. It wouldn't need to last for very long, but even just a few seconds was dangerous territory.

Surprisingly, it was the older hunters that showed the lack of dignity. In particular, Winter and Qrow, who were bickering like freaking children. If she had to wager a guess, there was some kind of unresolved tension there. Or maybe tension that seemed resolved and then kind of de-resolved itself. Point being, it was taking some extra patience out of Ozpin and Glynda just to keep them playing it cool. Never mind Ruby and Weiss who were both freaking out about working alongside their family members. In any other situation it might have been adorable, but here and now, it was just aggravating.

A noise from her scroll brought her back to reality and Emerald's heart leapt up into her throat. "Shit! She's on her way."

Everyone else was a little too wrapped up in their own business, so Neo gave her an emphatic arm wave. "Well? Go get ready then. You've got a loud enough voice."

Emerald nodded and ran to the middle of the dais where everyone was acting like a circus. "Hey! Cool it! She's coming, and this is only going to work if the rest of you are in position and completely still. So. Cut your bullshit for like... two hours so we can get this done. Then you all can go back to acting ridiculous." With Neo in tow, she stormed off, knowing that perhaps her attitude was a little harsh but necessary to make this plan work. Very few people save Qrow and Ruby had really seen even an ounce of how dangerous Cinder could be. With just half of the maiden's power, she had become a very real weapon willing to do anything to get what she wanted. And if backed into a corner, no doubt she would pull out all the stops.

* * *

They met a little ways outside the coliseum. The good news, as far as Emerald was concerned, was that Cinder wasn't wearing her usual battle outfit. Her 'undercover' clothes were still laced with enough Dust to take down a small militia. But that damn red dress was basically armor for all the things she could do with it. The other benefit to fighting with her in the arena was that there would be a severe lack of glass for her to utilize. No doubt, Cinder would find some way to adjust.

She and Mercury looked wary, but then again they always did. But for whatever reason they played along. "So yeah, we were talking about adding an extra boom to the big finale. Just when everything seems particularly bleak, a few carefully triggered explosions and things get sent down the drain. I mean, can you imagine this entire floating island suddenly losing power and crashing down into the ground below?"

"It's a very good plan, Emerald." Cinder spoke in her usual cool tone of voice as their footsteps brought them in to the center of the coliseum.

"Thanks. I was thinking maybe we do some proper timing, get a kind of... flashy pyrotechnic blast here to distract everyone. Just for funsies."

"No." Cinder stepped forward into the very center of the ring and looked around her. "No, the plan to stop me. It was very intelligent. Getting us here in the middle of a bunch of fighters without realizing it. Not giving us time to prepare before they all suddenly appear and attack. Clever. But pointless. I knew something was amiss the moment you disappeared for parts unknown. I see now it was because you were too busy necking with Neo. Roman will be hurt~" She addressed this last part to the other girl, who responded not with an intelligently signed statement, but instead a simple middle finger.

Well, no point in pushing her semblance past the breaking point. She released her hold and brought everyone into sight. Perhaps it was only wishful thinking, but Emerald could swear that Cinder looked almost impressed for a few moments. "If you absolutely had to gather anyone to try and take me down, you've chosen well. And the upside is, when I kill all of them, there will be no one left to stand in my way when I crush this place under my heel."

"Enough talk," was all she heard from Qrow before he leapt forward to attack her, Yang taking the cue and charging Mercury at the same time. Everyone might have been behaving like children earlier, but when it was time for business, they knew how seriously to take it.

The exhaustion hit Emerald like a brick wall, and she stumblingly removed herself from the melee. Neo was at her side, looking at her with an impressive amount of concern. Even if the girl could audibly speak, it would have been difficult to hear her over the sounds of everyone fighting. "Go, go, they need you more than I do, I'll be fine!" She continued to get herself a reasonable distance away before turning to see how everything was going.

Cinder's confidence wasn't without its reason. Each of them was fighting multiple opponents with Neopolitan constantly flipping around and creating confusing illusory enemies that shattered upon damage. If this was as far as anybody's plans went, there was every possibility that the two of them could have at least held out long enough to make some kind of escape. But splitting up Mercury and Cinder into two separate battles was just the beginning.

Yang was keeping most of Mercury's attention, trading kicks for punches over and over again. On Ruby's signal (it had taken a lot of work to stop her from making the code phrase 'electroshock therapy') Yang back-stepped, her place taken up by Blake who immediately started fighting him instead, making clone after clone of ionized air. While he was distracted by that, Ruby and Weiss both loaded up as much Dust as they could before frying the ever-loving crap out of Mercury's cybernetic legs. He tried as hard as he could to keep them running, but the overload was too much and soon he was on the ground, growling in frustration.

Cinder was harder to trick and disable, but she was also fighting much more skilled hunters. Neopolitan made a good moving target to keep her frustrated, bolstered by whatever useful minion Winter could summon. Qrow kept up the main assault in direct melee, aided by his sheer rage at having his mission to protect Amber utterly trashed. Glynda was firing anything and everything she could at her, and Ironwood was basically never not firing his gun. And Oz was... well... it was difficult to tell. He was kind of phasing in and out of reality, clashing over and over against Cinder's knives.

At this point, Cinder could very well have made something of a victory and gotten away. But Mercury was dispatched so quickly that now she also had team RWBY turning their attention on her. "Tsk tsk, for the supposed good guys, you really aren't fighting fair."

Qrow growled as he took a step toward her, holding the point of his scythe at her neck. "Shove it. You weren't terribly merciful when you attacked the Fall Maiden."

"I only took half her powers, and she's still alive."

"Because I showed up and you chickened out! Now, any last words before I make you pay?"

"Stand down, Qrow! We need her alive." Glynda's voice was hard as steel and a little terrifying. She pushed him aside and stepped forward, pointing her crop in Cinder's face, who didn't so much as flinch. "She can't pay for her crimes if we destroy her. And seeing as I had to help care for Amber when she was brought here, I'm eager to see Miss Fall suffer." Glynda flicked her weapon again, sending out a wave of energy beams that turned into shackles, surrounding and binding her limbs. "Ironwood. Time to see if your scientists know what they're talking about or if they're blowing smoke up your..." she paused and glanced at the gathered students, perhaps deciding to censor herself. "...nose..."

The general strode up to where Cinder stood, not even bothering to struggle against the energy holding her in place. She just had that same look of smug assurance as always. That was worriesome. Ironwood slapped a patch on her neck, and just as suddenly some of the color drained from her face and she started to waver slightly. "As you can see, we know what we are doing in Atlas. Whether it's military intelligence or scientific endeavors, when we seek to do something, we make it happen. She might still have the powers of half a Fall Maiden, but her semblance is locked away. That should make things significantly easier."

Things were winding down, and nobody looked particularly relieved. After all, this wasn't over yet, and all the confidence in the world wouldn't save them if Cinder got free and came back for them with a vengeance. But this particular job was done and they still had a tournament to compete in. "Go on, kids. You've earned a rest." Ozpin waved them off while helping to escort Cinder and Mercury... somewhere else. Emerald didn't know where, and she didn't want to know.

As they all left and began heading in various directions, Ruby came up alongside her and Neopolitan with a little smirk. "...is it true what she said about you two? Because that's seriously adorable." Amazing that she could participate in this kind of knock-down, drag-out brawl and still find time to squee over someone else's love life.

Wait, love life? Was that an accurate phrase? They had flirted the other day, and they had shared a bed and been at least kind of close. But perhaps in the end that was just because they were alone together in all of this. Was that a terrible reason to like somebody?

Neopolitan was actually the one to respond, signing a bit awkwardly with her hands, "We haven't necked yet, but it's in the works at least." Which, of course, Ruby couldn't understand, Emerald was too embarrassed to translate, and nobody else had seen. Once it became clear she wasn't going to get a verbal answer, Ruby went back to annoying her girlfriends instead.

Emerald looked over at her with a small smile. "Was that a serious answer or were you just saying that because you knew she wouldn't get it anyway?"

Starting to get that old smug grin back, Neo just replied "I haven't quite decided yet, but I'm open to being convinced. Besides, as a very wise woman once said – I'm a multitasker, I can be both serious and joking at the same time."


	11. This Could All Be Yours

The students may have earned a break, but there was no rest for the wicked. Ironwood and Winter took Mercury to lock him up alongside his pal Torchwick. The rest of them took Cinder down into the vault below the tower. "Is it insubordination for me to question why we're putting the dangerous criminal even closer to the maiden? Instead of, I don't know, as far away as conceivably possible?" Glynda knew there was no need for her short tone, but she was exhausted and uncertain of Ozpin's reasoning.

"Yeah, I'm not really eager to think of her being one wall away from Amber. Too many bad possibilities." It was nice to have Qrow on her side, even if the concept that they agreed on something was a little foreign.

"It's not as though we're going to leave her unguarded. And we only need her around here long enough to undo what she did and return the maiden's powers."

Cinder stumbled for just a moment in Ozpin and Qrow's grip, giving a soft chuckle. "It's rude to talk about a lady like she's not in the room."

Nobody bothered to address Cinder. They didn't want to give her the satisfaction of their attention. And since any chatter between them would be further fodder for her to poke and prod, they finished the trip down and across the space in silence. Finally they unceremoniously dumped her into the empty pod and locked her inside. Glynda actually felt as though she could breathe a sigh of relief. "Next annoying question: do we know how to do this?"

"In theory? Yes. In practice? ...not so much." Ozpin sighed and moved to the center console, punching in data and commands. Qrow took up a spot leaning on a nearby column, watching Amber intently. Glynda stood near Cinder's pod in case she started doing anything fishy.

It had been a long night, and it wasn't over yet.

* * *

The next morning, Glynda was hiding in her office with bags under her eyes. She poured herself a cup of coffee, then after some consideration, added a dash of something extra to it. It felt good just to be sitting and doing nothing at all. The caffeine and alcohol were helping. "Mmm, finally. A chance to catch my breath... This might almost be a perfect morning if-"

On cue, the door to her office opened and Winter entered tentatively, her smile pleasant but also hinting at the fact that she understood things between them were very... fluid. "You're here, good. I was worried you might still be down below, or..."

"Or dead?" Glynda took a hearty sip from her coffee before finally managing a more realistic smile. "I live to terrify students another day. Things proved more difficult than Oz was expecting, so we're on a rotation right now as to who's watching her. Which reminds me, let your boss know he's on to guard her with Qrow in two hours while Ozpin takes two seconds to actually sleep. I'm sure James will be _thrilled_." She went to take another drink before realizing that Winter was still standing there looking at her with growing concern. "Oh, god, I'm so sorry, I'm so tired. I wasn't even thinking... It was completely uneventful. You have nothing to worry about."

Winter came up behind her chair and began slowly massaging her shoulders, causing her to instantly melt. "And here I thought _we_ had a rough night. Mercury Black had to be jailed by the books. That included getting him new, non-weaponized prosthetics according to guidelines, which took a while." The massage continued a bit deeper now, and as Winter hit a particular tight nerve cluster, a small moan slipped past Glynda's lips. Her face went a deep red and Winter chuckled. "I have to leave for Atlas again in a few hours. And while I would have preferred doing literally anything else with my night... it was good to see you again..."

The professor finally allowed herself to look up at the other woman, a slight smile on her lips. "A few hours is better than nothing. And I'm sure we can find something to do to fill the time."

Winter's face fell and her eyes glanced away from her. "I promised to meet Weiss and check on her progress here. Mother and father will never let me hear the end of it if she's not doing well when she could be 'excelling in Atlas instead of that wretched school'." She scoffed.

"Your family is important to you. Obviously, I would never begrudge you for that. It would just be nice if we ever had more than passing glances and fleeting touches." Glynda shifted, moving up to sit on the edge of her desk and pulling Winter by the hands in front of her. "Far be it from me to recommend breaking the rules. But... doesn't this count as extenuating circumstances? Capturing wanted criminals and helping one of the four maidens? You could stay here, and assist James with whatever he's doing. Continue keeping an eye on your sister. There could be more time for us." She knew she was flying off the rails a little bit at this point, but Glynda lived a life that was way too interesting and she was dying for something normal and consistent.

The other woman's stoic face started to crack just a little and a tired smile graced her lips. "I doubt it? I'm military, not law enforcement. As far as my superiors are concerned, I don't have any duty to uphold the law in another kingdom." Slender fingers cupped her cheek, the thumb brushing over her lips. "But... I'm sure it comes as no surprise that I've already managed to store up some vacation time that I have been staunchly avoiding. If someone were to give me a good reason, I might actually be able to move past my programming enough to take an honest-to-goodness break..."

Finally Winter closed the distance between their lips, kissing her firmly, as if to punctuate her promise to try and stick around for longer. Glynda was a realist, and she wasn't going to hold her breath that she would magically get to have Winter with her forever. Even just an extra day or two would have been good, and this was why. No intense drama, no terror or nervousness. They'd been in and out of each other's lives for just long enough for the awkwardness to be mostly gone.

Pretty much the entire mass of left-over awkwardness was now bundled up in the form of Qrow. Not only a great hunter and the center of many different interconnected situations, Qrow was also Winter's ex. So working together was always such a fun experience for the three of them. Whether it was the time or the drink, he had been cooling off lately, but things still bubbled to the surface in the form of arguments over nothing at all.

But otherwise, things were smooth between the two of them. Winter's hand shifted and moved up to toy with the little twirl of her hair. She always did that. It was just one of those things. Glynda had assumed that it was because she kept her own hair so tightly wound that she admired the volume and shape of it. She moved to press their bodies closer together. For a while, she was able to just forget about everything that had happened. The battle, the Fall Maiden, all the terrorist activity they had foiled... Even if it was just for five minutes, she could be at peace. All thanks to Winter.

She barely even registered it when the power briefly flickered throughout the tower. Just Ozpin making another attempt at working his machine.

Almost of their own volition, her legs lifted up and wrapped around Winter's hips, her arms snaking around her lower back, tugging her in basically as close as she could get. Glynda was very good at not thinking about how badly she needed intimacy, but in the moment, it was an all-encompassing need. Another moan passed her lips into the kiss, in the guise of a sigh, and it seemed as though Winter had caught on, because a second later she had her lower lip pinned between her teeth.

It was good. So damn good.

And that made it all the worse when the door of her office opened again. "Hey, ladies, when you have a moment to separate your faces, Oz managed to do a thing. Probably gonna be pretty interesting. I mean, not as interesting as tongue-wrestling with each other, but y'know, still pretty cool."

The door shut, and Winter glared over her shoulder at the space Qrow had just occupied. "Idiot... Although, that's probably the nicest he's been in ages, so I suppose I must take my good news where I can get it." Winter took the time to give Glynda one last lingering kiss before taking her hand and dragging her toward the elevator. "Come on, if this is really over, I'm taking that as a sign from the universe that it's time for me to actually rest."

* * *

The two of them arrived in front of Ozpin's device in time to see the Qrow and Ironwood dragging Cinder out of the pod on the right while Oz gently guided Amber out of the left-hand pod. Both women were obviously dazed – good news as far as Cinder was concerned since it made her far more easy to deal with. And already the powers were doing their work within Amber as her facial scars started to heal before their eyes. "Professor, everyone, thank you. What... did I miss?"

"Nothing much, some explosions, a few fights." Showing a new breed of swagger that Glynda might have almost called 'tender', Qrow walked over to Amber, kneeling down and taking her hand, kissing a knuckle. "I'm sorry, Amber. For showing up too late. If I hadn't been delayed with... Never mind. The point is that I understand if you hate me."

Glynda shared a look with Winter, neither of them fully able to believe what they were seeing. The drunken braggart was actually down on bended knee, apologizing for something that was definitely his fault. Perhaps part of the reason he was improving himself was for the maiden? Granted the journey to a better Qrow was still long and difficult, but it was a start.

"Come on, Branwen, enough with the chivalrous theatrics. I don't hate you." Amber pulled him up to stand, then suddenly slammed her fist into his shoulder, making him flinch. "That being said, the next time you ditch me to chase some innkeeper's skirts, I'll come find you and torch you and then take her out on a date myself."

"Ugh, if you're going to kill me, please do it now. I can't stand a single one of you." Cinder clearly wasn't feeling the love, and unfortunately for her, neither was Ironwood. He roughly hauled her up to a standing position before cuffing her hands together behind her back. "Please. Firing squad. Burned at the stake. Drawn and quartered. I'm not picky. Just make it end."

"No such luck, lady. You've still got to be questioned and sentenced, along with your friend." Ironwood looked over at Winter and sighed. "I'm afraid you are officially being ordered to stick around, Schnee. I'm gonna need your help on this one."

Winter glanced briefly at Glynda and the two shared what they assumed was a private smile – it was not – before looking back at him with a serious salute. "Sir, if I absolutely must, sir. I'll do my best to keep a lid on my disappointment."


	12. Do What You Want

"That's what that noise was? We kinda just thought some students had snuck into the coliseum to train or whatever. Jeez, we miss all the fun..."

Blake appreciated the sentiment Sun was trying to get across, but she wasn't entirely certain that 'fun' was the first word that came to mind when she thought about the night before. "I mean... This wasn't like the tournament. We were fighting bloodthirsty killers who would have struck down as many of us as they needed to. It was only through the sheer numbers that we did as well as we had. A few wrong moves and... I don't know, one of us might be in the infirmary right now, or worse." She glanced across the common room to where Neopolitan and Emerald were sitting. Having once been a less than reputable individual herself, she couldn't hold them accountable for everything. But she still had some really mixed feelings about the way those two had ended up in their social circle now that everything was said and done. "Sorry, I know they were friends of yours. I'm sure it was difficult."

"Not as difficult as you might think. The more Neo and I talked, the less attached I was to staying on 'Team Bad Guys'. She told me what you said the other day, and I think I agree. No matter how nice any of them could pretend to be, their natural states tend be 'massive asshole'."

The common room was currently filled with probably too many students. Blake was nestled against Yang on one couch with Ruby and Weiss curled up on the floor in front of them. Team MRPN had taken up another couch, Nora seated on the back with her legs casually draped over Ren's shoulders while Pyrrha reclined comfortably in Marigold's lap. Sun and Neptune had occupied the nearby counter, Emerald and Neo were leaning on the far wall, Penny in a chair with Ciel perched on the arm. They made quite an impressive crew.

"Okay, but back to the fight, I'm not sure I understand why it took so many expert-tier hunters to take down one woman. I saw their fight in the tournament – they were tough but not scary or dangerous." Neptune seemed confident in his analysis, but then again, he wasn't there to see the real fight.

"She was holding back," Emerald cut in, her face displaying the seriousness of what they'd dealt with. "I don't think she even used her semblance, much less-"

"Classified!" Ruby squeaked desperately. "The other reason being _massively_ classified and we've probably already told you guys enough that Qrow will have to kill us all on principle. Let's just... Let's just say she had a secret weapon."

"Oh, speaking of the tournament, how does this situation affect your standing, Emerald? Will you two be leaving for parts unknown? I imagine it would be nice to have that kind of freedom." Nice of Penny to redirect the conversation somewhat. For an android – seriously, Ruby could _not_ keep a secret – she was developing relatively impressive social graces in a short amount of time.

"Yeah, freedom really isn't in the cards for us," came the voice from Neopolitan's phone. Way too many people to bother with signing and translating. "Part of our rehabilitation includes continuing to fight in the tournament. After that, we are being forcibly enrolled here at Beacon next term so they can keep a close eye on us. Anything suspicious and we get locked up along with the others."

Ciel perked up a little. "What a coincidence! Penny and I were just granted clearance to enroll here as well! I suppose that means we will be classmates before too long."

"Ooh, perhaps we might even be teammates together," added Penny.

"No, well, I mean... Who knows right? Isn't it like randomized or whatever? Some kind of arbitrary thing with chess pieces?" Emerald looked around the rest of the room with wide eyes, silently begging everyone to give her some ounce of hope that she and Neo wouldn't be saddled with their polar opposites.

No one was much help, and Ren was quick to dash the last of those hopes in the dirt. "From what I remember, it's incredibly rare to enroll at Beacon mid-year, and even more rare that you would be put on a team with someone in a different year than you. It's an obvious solution to a problem, so... yeah, you're probably going to be on a team. Team... CPNE... Champagne? Could be worse, you're all competent fighters."

It was clear that Ren's attempt at positivity wasn't quite enough to bring Neo and Em around, but at least Penny and Ciel seemed thrilled at the prospect of already knowing who their teammates would likely be. That was more than any of the rest of them got. The awkward silence that followed was only broken when everyone's scrolls began sounding, an alert that the second round match-ups had been decided. They all scrambled to check the listings.

"Yang, you and I are squaring off against... Hmmm, Neon Katt and Flynt Coal?"

"Dangit, I didn't see their match. But considering they're from team FNKI, we're going to need to be alright with making stuff up on the fly..."

Emerald smirked and closed up her scroll. "Coco and Yatsuhashi. Easy-peasy. Team Mindgames has got this on lock-down."

"Team Mindgames?" Penny was getting better at understanding some things, but others still eluded her.

Ciel smiled and laid a hand on her shoulder. It was sweet to see that Penny's handler (and really, that was the best term that applied sometimes) was willing to walk her through the things she didn't catch on to. "Miss Sustrai and Miss Neopolitan both have semblances that deal in illusions. Miss Adel and Mister Daichi are competent fighters, but they both rely on brute strength to achieve their victories. It's safe to say they'll be caught off guard."

"If Emerald wasn't so boring and focused on being a goody-goody now, we were gonna be Team Mindfu-" Neopolitan's scroll started to announce before Emerald reached over and hurried to silence it. Yang burst out in bright laughter at that. You almost got the impression that she had gotten over her furious rivalry with the tiny troublemaker.

"Aaaaaanyway," Nora said, attempting to once again move the conversation along before the awkwardness took over again. "It would appear that ' _Miss Nikos_ ' and I will be fighting none other than the wonder twins here, Neptune and Sun. You better not go easy on us, because _I am going to stomp you_!"

The easy-going friends weren't really prepared for Nora's excessive method of pushing a friendly rivalry and started to shrink in on themselves. "Neptune?"

"Yeah, buddy?"

"It's been nice knowing you. But I think we're gonna die."

"I will always treasure our time as junior detectives."

Ciel hummed softly as she tapped at the small screen, her brow knit together in mild concern. "I'm afraid I am not familiar with our team. From Vacuo. A mister 'Dart Anyin' and miss 'Luka Laufey'."

"Oh! I saw a bit of their team fight. You shouldn't have much trouble with Dart, he's a very classical fighter, has practiced stances and solid form, great fencing technique. Kind recognizes kind, you understand~ It's Luka you need to watch out for. She's not a particularly skilled fighter, but she uses her semblance to warp around, get in close, and strike you where it hurts the most with her knives." Leave it to Weiss to know something, confidently, even when nobody else did.

Ciel smiled appreciatively, face burning just a little in a familiar shade from when they spoke the day before. She was likely going to fit in just fine with their group of friends. "Thank you, Miss Schnee, your input will no doubt be invaluable. You obviously have a keen eye." Weiss did her best to accept the compliment humbly, but you could see that she was glowing with pride.

Weirdly shameless flirtation aside, something else caught Blake's eye and she turned her attention back to her scroll, flicking back up a few paces. "Uh, I hate to ruin our delightful bonding session here but did anyone happen to look at the dates and times for these fights?"

"Oh crap," said Yang as she realized what Blake was getting at. She stood up and rather unceremoniously hauled Weiss up into her arms. "C'mon, princess, don't wanna be late to our own party. See you guys at the coliseum!"

* * *

To say that Yang and Weiss needed to learn to improvise was an understatement. Their colorful assailants had the rhythm and the moves, more than enough to confuse and distract both girls. It seemed for a while that everything was lost.

Things seemed to be at their worst when Weiss suddenly dove and knocked Yang over. Everyone was confused right up until the moment the geyser went off and obliterated the last of her aura. "Weiss!" both Blake and Ruby cried out in unison, immediately leaping from their seats and rushing down to meet their teammates as soon as the match was over. They didn't even realize that Yang had won until the guards let them through and they rushed to their side.

"You complete and utter idiot, what were you thinking!" Blake said as she helped Weiss to her feet, immediately crushing her in a tight hug. She only thought to loosen her grip when Weiss gave a small gasp of pain, coughing up some ash. "Sorry! Dammit, sorry, I am so mad at you right now, that was amazing!" Ruby was busy tackling Yang in a congratulatory hug, so Blake kept her attention on simultaneously berating and tending to Weiss. "You scared the hell out of me." Not entirely thinking straight, she wiped her face clean and planted a kiss firmly on her lips.

The sound of someone clearing their throat nearby alerted Blake to the approach of Flynt, pulling down his sunglasses and smirking. "You got yourself one hell of a special lady there. Hold on to her. Never thought I'd see a Schnee pull something like that."

Katt came skating up alongside Yang and Ruby, winking at the blonde. "This was fun. We should go out dancing some time. Guess even top heavy chicks can move."

Blake glared at her, not afraid to take on a fellow faunus for getting flirtatious at a time like this. "Hey, _she's_ my girlfriend too, so watch it."

Weiss weakly raised her hand. "A-And mine. So, y'know... Let's just all be nice. It was a good fight. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to the infirmary." Blake quickly shifted and placed a supporting arm around her and guided Weiss away from the coliseum.

* * *

In the infirmary, Blake sat beside the bed where Weiss was resting. Already she looked better, although she was drinking enough water to put out a campfire. "I'm... sorry for reacting like I did. I guess with everything that happened lately, it became the straw that broke the camel's back. Team RWBY... Well, I-I mean... all of you... are special to me. And for a split second I saw what it might look like if I lost someone."

Weiss hurried to drink another big gulp of water before reaching over and taking her hand, holding it firmly. "...you're special to me too. Everyone is. And I would never want to do something that would put me in any legitimate harm. Last night, we were operating really well together. And out there in he coliseum, I knew two things – the artificial hazards couldn't kill me, and Yang could have handled that fight better than I could. It was an easy choice. I hope that doesn't scare you."

"No... I can respect a calculated risk like that. Obviously you did the right thing."

Before the conversation could continue any further, the door opened suddenly and there stood a woman who looked an awful lot like Weiss. It wasn't terribly hard to connect the dots. "You complete and utter idiot, what were you thinking!"

"Well, this is familiar..." Weiss groaned, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Hi Winter. I thought you were headed back to Atlas."

Winter stormed over to the other side of the bed and glared down at her. "I'm going to be in Vale a while longer. And now I'm glad I am, because it's clear you took entirely the wrong end of the advice I offered you. For goodness' sake, all you had to do was use a glyph to move your teammate out of the way instead of tackling her like some... action movie hero."

"Hey!" Blake shot up to her feet and realized a few seconds too late that she was about to stand up to an older Schnee family representative who probably didn't particularly care what she had to say. But she was here now and she had to follow through or she would look much more foolish. "Weiss already puts herself through the ringer in the name of preserving her family name. There's... no reason for you to add fuel to the fire."

"Miss Belladonna, correct? Weiss has told me a great deal about you, as well as the rest of her team. If rumors are to believed, I have no reason to worry about you taking care of my sister. But please don't misunderstand. I badger because I care."

Winter carefully took a seat on the edge of the bed and Blake returned to her chair. "When Weiss decided that she wanted to expand her horizons and come here instead of attending Atlas, I felt... quite proud of her. She was combating everything she had grown up with and was choosing to become her own person. In the short time that she's been here, I have seen her grow so much from the girl I knew. And I... I want to be certain she doesn't stop. I rebelled in my own small way, but Weiss might be the first Schnee to actually live a life of her own choosing." The woman reached out and rested a comforting hand against her sister. "And quite frankly, I think it's amazing what you and your team have become. Just thinking about how angry father would be gives me some small measure of delight."

Blake could see the tears gathering in Weiss' eyes and she moved in quickly to press a kiss on her temple. "Yes, she's just full of surprises."

"Any time you all want to stop talking about me like I'm not here would be just grand," she said bashfully, doing her best to pout. "Um. That being said... thank you both. I-I'm trying. Trying to be the best Weiss instead of the best Schnee. And I realized in the moment that the kind of person I want to be is one who does something stupid for the sake of someone they care about."

"Inventing your own metric is a good sign, little sister. There's hope for you yet." Like Weiss, it was a pleasant surprise to see that Winter was not entirely devoid of humor. She gave her a quick hug and started for the door. "Since I won't be leaving anytime soon, I'll leave you be. Capturing two wanted criminals was only the beginning, there's much more left to do."

"Say hi to your girlfriend for me," Weiss said mysteriously, causing Winter's face to erupt in a bright blush. "I can read between the lines too, big sister. Go on, you've got all the time in the world to bother me again later." After Winter left, Weiss noted the look of surprise on Blake's face. "She and Professor Goodwitch have been shamelessly flirting for years. They think they're being subtle."

You really couldn't keep a secret in this place.


	13. Center of Attention

Nora and Pyrrha had one hell of a victory. Nora actually felt pretty damn bad about just how quickly the match had ended. Sun and Neptune were great guys and fantastic warriors. They did their absolute best. But two fierce warrior women were no match against a pair of badges and fake mustaches.

The four of them shook hands and hugged and shared a good laugh about how terrifying Nora and Pyrrha were. As they were leaving the coliseum, they ran into Ruby and Yang who had come to congratulate them. Immediately, Nora's mind switched over and she remembered something very important. "Yangie! I'm glad you're here!"

"Well, you just had a big victory, so I guess it's only fair I help you with whatever you need."

Pyrrha artfully grabbed Ruby and pulled her aside to continue their own animated chatter. Nora remained with Yang, bouncing excitedly on her feet. "That Neon girl. Do you think you could score me a date? She's so cool!"

Yang's eyes widened a little and her smile split into a huge grin. "I don't know how to tell you this, but she was already making a pass at me. I'm not sure if you're gonna be able to get with her."

"Yang!" Nora stomped her foot, feeling some legitimate anger. "You have a million girlfriends and I have none! How in the world could you not just give me this one little thing?"

Yang started laughing brightly and clapped a hand on her shoulder as a friendly gesture. "Oh my god, chill out, Valkyrie. First, I only have two girlfriends, which is already plenty. And second, I'm sure the moment she gets a look at you, she'll forget all about little old me. Tell you what, I know a great place we can all go out. I'll get Neon, you can bring your boy. Then, while we're dancing and having a great time, Ren and I can wingman for you. Simple as that!"

"Well now I kinda feel like a jerk. But uh... thanks Yang. You're seriously the best. Good looking out."

* * *

Nora stepped up in front of Junior's Club with Ren on her arm, sighing softly. "This seems like... a bad place. Like a bad place where bad things happen. Why in the hell is Yang having us meet up here?"

Ren didn't look any more convinced than she was. But he at least tried to gather up a little positivity. "Danger is exciting? That's a thing, right?"

"It damn sure better be..." she muttered as she approached the line before suddenly being waved over to the front where Yang had apparently already paid cover for everyone. "What the hell Yang? Why are we going to the seediest club in all of Vale?" The bouncer glared at her, but he also looked like the kind of chump she could knock out with a single punch, so she wasn't terribly threatened. "What? It is." He eventually shrugged in a kind of 'you're not wrong' admission.

"Danger is exciting!" Yang replied eagerly, Ren grinned smugly, and Nora chose not to validate either of them. "Besides, everyone here is terrified of me, and they make killer strawberry sunrises." Yang pulled Nora away from Ren, linking arms with her and nudging her gently. "I showed Neon your picture. I swear she was purring."

That should have been good news, but for some reason that knowledge actually made Nora more nervous, not less. "Yeah cuz you probably showed her one of my better pictures. You think she's still gonna want me when I'm a total wacked-out mess?"

"She saw you go ape-shit in your battle today and still wants to meet, so I think you're golden."

Nora gave a low groan, covering her eyes with her free hand. "Oh jeez, you mean the fight where I was laughing maniacally? Yes. I'm sure that completely, totally won her over."

Once they were inside, Nora was greeted with the sight of Neon standing right there, so she couldn't very well complete this conversation. Yang released her arm and nudged her forward, while she and Ren stood aside, smiling knowingly. "Nora Valkyrie, I am honored to be in the presence of such a fine warrior maiden. I'm going to have to insist on buying you a drink and sharing a dance to celebrate the fact that you and your teammate have moved on to the finals." She was honestly surprised with just how swiftly Neon moved. No bothering with pretense or foolish lies. More than anything, it was refreshing. Actually, it helped to eat away some of the anxiety that had been building up. She didn't need to bother keeping a bunch of walls in place, wearing politeness and feigned embarrassment for the sake of proper romance.

Just a big wide open space of possibilities where Nora could run free and wild. And Nora was very good at running free and wild.

"Neon Katt, it would be my greatest delight to be treated so well by someone who fought so valiantly in honor of their academy. Lead the way!" Neon grabbed up her hand and tugged her over to the bar, getting them two of those strawberry sunrises that Yang wouldn't shut up about. It was, surprisingly, not all that bad.

Considering how lively the both of them were, Nora hadn't expected to just sit there at the bar with Neon, talking over the music – which required leaning over and practically pressing lip to ear just to be heard. Not that she was complaining. It was such an amazing thing to listen to her talk about Atlas, because it was exactly the kind of academy that both Neon and Flynt seemed like they wouldn't want anything to do with. But they were proud of their academy, even if it could be stuffy. Likewise, Neon had a lot to say about Penny and Ciel, and being a faunus in that part of the world, and her hometown, and basically everything else. Nora talked up how much she loved her style and her tattoo and hair. Neon complimented her hammer and the clever use of pink to clash with her rough and tumble style.

Nora felt like she could talk with her forever, but there was something she wanted to do even more. Once their drinks were drained, she yanked the faunus out to the dance floor and immediately started in. Talking had been intimate, but this was even more so. It was a busy night, and crowded, so they had to keep close together so they didn't lose each other in the crowd – not that it would be easy to do since Neon stood out like crazy.

Nothing could prepare her for Yang and Ren coming over with slightly dazed looks on their faces. "We've been invited into the VIP section. You in?"

* * *

It was a bit quieter in the VIP section, and basically vacant except for a pair of twins who were beckoning Yang over. And, by extension, everyone else. Nora was about to take her spot on the couch when Neon casually grabbed her and pulled her into her lap instead, causing her to give a tiny squeak. Ren just laughed and took a seat on a single chair opposite the couches.

"Melanie, Miltia. To what do I owe the pleasure of such a warm welcome?"

Nora had no idea which girl was which, and it hardy mattered to her. She was a little too distracted by the lap she was in. All she knew for sure was that the girl in white did most of the talking. "We could ask you the same thing, darling. You paid your cover, you brought actual friends, you danced, you bought drinks. No violence, no combat, no yelling. You've been quite civil tonight. Color us intrigued."

Yang stretched out and took up a significant amount of space. "Yeah, well, things have been busy since the last time I was here. I'm kinda ready to have a normal night for once. And... I dunno, I like this place! It's out of the way, just busy enough, and the drinks are damn good." Yang chuckled and pulled a large chunk of her hair away from her face. "Plus, there's something really funny to me about making this a popular Beacon hotspot and filling your crime den with hunters in training."

The conversation didn't really hold much interest for Nora, so she looked back at Neon and caught her watching her with a smile. "What's up?"

"Dunno, guess I was just thinking about how I wasn't expecting to have such an interesting time here. In Vale, I mean. I assumed Beacon would be fun. But I didn't figure I would be taken out to a club where a pretty girl would sit on my lap."

Nora couldn't conjure up anything witty to say in return and instead just devolved into a bout of nervous laughter and mumbling. She could take on a million ursa while maintaining a conversation, but a cute face just broke her brain.

"C'mon. VIP is boring. Let's get back to dancing~" Neon helped her to stand up and led her away and back out to the floor where the thumping music helped to wipe away her conscious mind and all its nervousness. Dancing was far easier, and way more fun. The faunus' arms wrapped around her and pulled her in close, lips gently pressing against her neck. "Much better" she purred softly.

* * *

Back at the dorm, Nora and Ren walked in on Pyrrha and Mari snuggled up together and reading – the nerd equivalent of second base. They were so disgustingly cute. They both looked up at them and each got that same insufferable grin on their faces that Ren had been wearing all night long. Pyrrha giggled softly, "Nora, did you know your face is absolutely covered in lipstick marks?"

She glanced down at her scroll where Neon had entered her number and contact info under the name 'Nya~ :3c'. "Yeah... and I'm never washing them off..."


	14. Two At a Time

Ciel had never accounted for having to participate in a two-on-one battle. It wasn't in her calculations. Penny was meant to be the powerhouse. Ciel provided support and tactics. But for some reason, Penny had gotten a very Romantic notion in her head that she would go into combat against Dart with just one sword, in order to match his skills. But wielding a single blade against a trained swordsman was very different from using swaths of them as they hovered and flew around you. Dart proved to be too much for her, and while she had held her own admirably, she ultimately took too many hits from his sabre.

Luka wasn't making things any easier. She could disappear and reappear anywhere at will in a puff of glittering Dust. When it was just her and Ciel, she was able to bend the time around herself enough to avoid those dangerous knives – mostly. But she had taken a decent hit to the shoulder that left her stunned and distracted, only just coming back around in time to see Penny fall in action. While her android body was still in fine shape, her aura was gone, and when you were knocked out of a match, that was that.

More than anything, what Ciel needed at that moment was time to think and breathe. A layman might have assumed she could just utilize her semblance to get all the time she needed. But like with any ability, it had its drawbacks. She felt every single second as she drew it out to the length of a minute, and that took its toll on her in both mind and body. If she used it too much, all she would have left was Terrible Pescacane – a weapon she might have been trained in, but wasn't as talented as either of her combatants.

The one good thing about the arena they'd been given was that there were two zones with wonderful funnel points, and the other two had a plethora of Dust crystals she could use. She fired off a round from her rifle, filling the area with mist and water vapor. It wasn't much, but it at least kept her from wasting more energy running away with her semblance. Ciel ducked through the a Dust field first, grabbing up crystals as she went, mixing and matching them on the fly. Once she felt as though she couldn't do much more prep, she ducked into the city-scape. Dart was the first to find her, which was good news because she rather wanted a bit of revenge for the defeat of her partner.

She cocked the rifle and fired off a round of ice, encasing him completely. Then, she followed it up with a gravity round that sent his temporary prison floating up into the sky. Best case scenario, the gravity would wear out and he would plumet back down to the ground. Even if he managed to break free, she hoped it would give her enough time to deal with Luka.

That was going to be the difficult part, because she was starting to realize that she couldn't fight such an erratic fighting style with clever tactics. She needed to meet her enemy head-on. Ciel had an idea, but it was a dumb one, and she wasn't really comfortable with dumb ideas. Luckily, the narrow area she'd run into put Luka's semblance at a disadvantage because she only had so many places to warp around to. Her tonfas met knives again and again in a frenetic clash, but it was clear that in a simple melee, she wasn't going to win.

Ciel steeled herself, knowing that this was going to hurt. Just as one could flex a muscle and cause it to spasm, she could do the same with her own semblance, effectively causing her to constantly flicker in and out of the time-stream. It was distracting, harder to hit her, harder to keep track of. The look on Luka's face was already amazing, and as they went back to trading blows, it was clear that they were on more even footing this time. The problem, of course, was that using her chronomancy this way was even more taxing. She needed to end this swiftly, so she flicked around behind Luka, driving both tonfas into her back and firing off two burning Dust rounds, just barely enough to knock out the last of her aura.

Just as she was about to worry that Dart would come back with a vengeance, she heard the sound of his ice prison fall to the ground and shatter, then the buzzer sounding her final victory. She stumbled back out to the center of the arena to the cries of all the students who had just seen her besting two warriors at once. Ciel gave an exhausted wave to them all before suddenly getting tackled by an ecstatic Penny. "Ciiiieeeelllll! Oh my goodness you did such a wonderful job and I am very very proud of you!"

"Absolutely amazing! Dark horse Ciel Soleil has just defeated two strong competitors without breaking a sweat!" came Oobleck's voice over the loudspeakers.

"I don't know about that, doctor. Ciel looks like she's in dire need of a long nap after that win," countered Port.

Penny took Ciel's hand and smiled that wonderful, bright smile. "They're right you know. We need a rest."

She breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. Rest sounded like a fine idea. "I could really go for a bit of sugary fairground food, and then I was thinking perhaps we should stick around and watch Neopolitan and Emerald's match? After all, if there really is every possibility that we'll end up teamed with them, it would be good for us to cheer them on and see how they fight."

"Capital! I couldn't agree more!" Penny clapped excitedly and the two of them went off to get some fatty foods.

* * *

It felt good to not have to be in the fake guise of 'Pistacia' anymore. She could wear her favorite battle skirt and carry her trusty parasol. It did create some difficulty for the announcers who had to conjure up an excuse for why she looked so different and had a different name. But that wasn't her problem.

Many duos would have been terrified to go up against a pair like Yatsuhashi and Coco. Neo and Emerald were not one of those duos. As far as they were considered, this one was going to be a total slaughter. For some reason, Team CFVY had decided to send out two heavy hitters instead of diversifying their team. Neo was at least more adept at dealing with hand-to-hand combat, and Emerald was more mobile and long-range. Of course, the true edge was in their ability to distract and mislead.

"I call the fashionista," Emerald said softly as they stared down their opponents.

Neo pouted and looked back at her with a cocked eyebrow. "You're gonna stick me with the hulking man-beast wielding the gigantic sword?"

"Awww, c'mon, you know you can take that dope with one hand tied behind your back. Hell, with both hands tied behind your back!"

"You know I love it when you get kinky on the battlefield. But we should probably focus on winning first," she signed with her usual smug smirk.

The buzzer sounded and Emerald threw out a chain, wrapping around Coco's midsection, hauling her off into the hayfield and running in after her. Neo really had no need to pull Yatsuhashi into one of the sectors to gain the upper hand. Emerald was correct, she could easily do this without much effort. She chose for the casual approach instead, propping her open parasol against her shoulder and twirling it as she strolled up to the big ox. Predictably, he went for a direct attack, which she was more than capable of dodging with a simple sidestep.

This continued for a while with him launching strike after strike and Neopolitan skillfully dodging each one. She could see the frustration clear as day on his face, and she was honestly grateful that the big guy didn't seem interested in battle chatter since it was one of those things she wasn't particularly good at. Finally she actually drew her parasol and started guarding against his blows. That always served as a fantastic method to show someone just how unpredictable she was. The thing looked like it was just lace, but it could stop bullets.

The sound of Coco's minigun tearing down all the tall grass was the signal that she needed to stop messing around quite so much. Neo threw up an illusory wall in front of Yatsuhashi and disappeared around behind him, waiting for him to shatter it. As soon as he did, she delivered a kick to the back of his knee, throwing him off balance. The dude was big, but Neopolitan was stronger than people gave her credit for. With a good grip on his arm and a steady stance, she was able to lift him and toss him like a ragdoll into one of the nearby ruined office buildings. It was such a satisfying sound. Even more satisfying was the collective gasp from the entire audience.

"Stunning, simply stunning! Despite her size and style, its clear that Neopolitan is just as much a tank as Yatsuhashi! Perhaps even more so..." Oobleck's praise was pretty delicious, and it did somewhat soften the knowledge that she would be in his classes before too long.

Neo grinned and drew the sword from her parasol, gripping the other piece in her off-hand as a shield, launching herself at Yatsuhashi as he tried to get back upright. Suddenly, he was surrounded by an entire circle of Neopolitans. Apparently he was growing tired of the games and performed a spinning slash that managed to break all of them and also collide powerfully with her shield. She grimaced as the force of it pushed her sliding back a few feet. Neo barely had time to react as he came diving in for an over-the-head slash, blocking with her much smaller blade and pushing back.

The thing was, if they had followed the original plans that they formulated, they could have easily finished this fight in seconds. But all the other goody-goodies had convinced them to at least try and put on a good show. And now, Neo was realizing that pretending to have a difficult time was actually making this more... fun? Yes, she could have just continued to make a series of low blows and questionable maneuvers. But trying to match this behemoth hit for hit was kind of enjoyable. Judging by the sounds from across the arena, Emerald was having a pretty good time herself.

Still, they weren't yet enlightened enough to accept something as humbling as failure. Eventually, they had to win.

She moved up her shield to take the weight of holding back the sword, then put up another shatter wall so that she could slip off to the side, re-sheathing her blade and folding in the parasol in one fluid movement, then she delivered a powerful strike to straight to his face. Even now, there was a look of shock there at just how much power was hidden in Neo's body and weapon. He went down, hitting the ground with a thud, as a buzzer sounded his defeat.

She curtsied, and was about to go check on Em and see if she needed any help, but there was another buzzer soon after indicating her partner's victory. Surprising even herself, Neopolitan offered a hand to Yatsuhashi, hauling him back up to his feet and passing him his sword as though it was a toy. "You're tough. Which is scary because you were obviously holding back."

They walked together back to the center as she signed while Emerald translated. "We were holding back because we're used to fighting dirty. I have to say, it's not so bad. I might almost dare say I enjoyed myself."

"Hey~ Did I hear right? You guys are gonna be joining next semester?" Coco looked at them both over her glasses before brushing away a few errant dust particles and flecks of grass.

"Yup. Kind of a long story. But uhh, guess we'll see you around." Emerald shared a quick fist bump with Coco, and Neo found herself pulled into a crushing bear-hug with Yatsuhashi. Probably for the best she couldn't say out loud some of the curses flying through her head at the moment.

They were hoping they could finally escape the campus and get back to the safe house to get some peace and quiet, but it turned out they had one last hurdle to overcome. Standing there, seemingly waiting for them, was Ciel and Penny, both smiling and applauding, which continued to feel pretty nice. "Oh good... I was hoping this might happen," she quickly signed to Emerald, thinking that would keep her thoughts hidden.

However, she looked back and saw both of them looking just slightly disappointed. "Like Ms. Schnee, I pride myself on being versed in several languages. And Penny has quite a few in her databanks. Sorry." Oh god, did Ciel actually look embarrassed to admit that?

"Okay well... don't say sorry, just get angry at me like a normal person."

Emerald cut off any further awkward conversation with a cough. "I believe what Neo is trying to get at is that we uhh... didn't really expect to see you guys. I can't imagine you're big fans of us. No one really is."

Penny shrugged and almost instantly that sunny disposition was back. "I like to think I am friends with everyone! Even if we are different. Besides, I have been giving more thought to what we discussed the other day. From what I have heard, this really is a rare and strange situation that we find ourselves in, and we agreed that it would be best to see your fight, and especially to congratulate you on your victory!"

"It was quite a departure from your first match. It was clear you were following a very different fighting style. That made for a very entertaining show!" Ciel adjusted her skirt slightly and was beginning to smile more as well. These two really were kind of inscrutable. "We agree with the conclusion that it's likely we'll end up on the same team. And if that's the case, we ought to be supportive."

Neopolitan shared a look with Emerald, and both of them felt pretty shitty about their initial attitude toward these two. "Rehabilitation from the dark side can take a while. You may have to put up with us being catty and rude on occasion. Think that'll be a problem?"

Ciel shook her head. "Not at all! Sometimes my overly calculating nature can be taken as insulting. And Penny does still have her lapses in social grace. We're hardly perfect."

"Okay, to be honest, we kinda saw your match too." Neo wanted to at least try and extend a hand that vaguely represented friendship. Just in case they were stuck together. "You whupped some serious ass. And I think Ciel's powers could really complement ours. Look uh..." She fiddled with her hands for a few moments, shrugging almost unconsciously. "I think we were gonna go just like... crash. Is that a thing you guys do? Veg out and do nothing? Possibly with ice cream?"

"I would be delighted!" Penny cried without missing a beat, and it looked as though her handler Ciel didn't have much of a say in the matter.


	15. Beginning of the End

Coco was grateful to find that the school's workshop area was almost completely empty. Now that the tournament was winding down to just the singles rounds, there weren't many people in need of fixing and maintaining their weapons.

Speaking of which, there was really no reason for Coco to be tweaking her minigun either. But having just been shut down in a big match by those two strange girls was enough to really hurt her normally-pleasant mood. And ultimately... she just wanted to be alone for a while. There was something satisfying and visceral about taking a precision tool to her weapon to fix the various bits and bobs so that it could unfold faster and fire more smoothly. It gave her a tiny bit of peace, but that peace was threatened to be broken by approaching footsteps. She silently prayed that they were from someone who just wanted to use another workbench, but with each footfall it was clear they were coming straight for her. The tension built higher until finally she slammed the tool against the bench and gave a growl that surprised even herself. "Listen, I'm really not in the mood to be bothered right now."

"...I can go..." The cadence and the accent caught her ear and instantly Coco spun around to see a scared and nervous Velvet with misty eyes.

Coco's heart instantly broke and she launched forward to hug her tightly. "God I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you like that can you ever forgive me?"

Something about the dramatic shift in tone caused Velvet to burst out in gentle laughter, which was good enough for Coco at the moment. "I was worried about you. With good reason, it would seem... What's going on?"

"I..." Coco moved back so that she could prop herself up on the workbench, grateful that it was built so sturdy. She then gently tugged Velvet between her knees and held her hips. "I don't like losing. And I feel like I've been losing a lot lately. First there was that awful mission that went so ass-end up we had to evac out like a bunch of cowards. And now I'm hearing rumors that the two girls who took us out aren't even from Mistral. They're a couple of criminals. We're supposed to be... strong and cool and tough! But we just keep getting knocked down. And I'm tired..."

Velvet smiled and her right ear twitched, and that one adorable little second was enough to put some life back in Coco's heart. "So what? You're still strong and cool and tough! None of those things mean you're... immune to falling. What they do require, however, is picking yourself up, dusting yourself off, and..." She reached over to the table where Coco's sunglasses were, popping them on her face with a wide grin. "...trying again. We're huntresses. There's always going to be another be another challenge or battle. Another chance to prove that you are Coco Adel, the coolest girl in all of Remnant!" Velvet leaned in and pecked her on the tip of her nose, and the two of them broke out in bright laughter.

* * *

The air in the arena was thick with excitement. Ruby looked out from her seat at the line-up of warriors on display, and it was a terrifying one at that. Her own sister, Yang, was dead center waving excitedly at everyone. Penny, Pyrrha, Neopolitan, as well as a few others she knew only by name from the fight rosters.

The roulette wheels started turning, the first match going to Yang and Neo, which the blonde looked infinitely pleased about. Yang made no secret of the fact that she still wanted to get another chance to fight one-on-one with Neopolitan, and doing so in front of a packed arena was a perfect opportunity.

Everyone else took their leave and the two fighters took their place in the center platform as it rose up. The countdown had barely even stopped reverberating before Yang and Neo launched themselves at one another and began fighting in earnest. True to form, Neo was content to keep constantly on the move, evading and ducking every single attack, keeping Yang good and angry. Eventually the parasol came out, splitting into its sword and shield combination and Neopolitan began fighting her back directly. The coliseum was filled with the sound of clanging metal, shotgun blasts, and shattering illusions, as well as various grunts of effort and the cheers of the crowd.

Ruby clapped and cheered out for her sister, even though she kind of liked fights like this because it hardly mattered who won. As cheesy as it was, being friends with everyone truly did have its benefits. "Punch her face in Yang!"

"You took her down once, you can do it again Neo!" she could hear Emerald calling out from nearby. The two of them caught each other's eyes and glared playfully.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you saw her semblance!"

"Neo could obliterate Yang without even using her semblance!" They continued to glare while their friends kept clashing down below.

* * *

"Ah~ I get the feeling this couch is going to see more action in the next few days than it has in ages..." Glynda shared a laugh with Winter as the younger woman bit gently into her neck.

With some prodding, Ironwood had been shown that with everyone captured and detained, there was really no reason for him to be swinging around his metaphorical phallus all over Vale. There was no point in putting robots at every street corner when all the active threats to the city had been more or less dealt with. However, the General wasn't comfortable with leaving the city completely as long as the festival was still going on. So he appointed Winter Schnee a position in Vale, occupying an office at the consulate, and a squadron of soldiers under her command.

The important thing, at least in the present moment now that she had some free time, was that her office was a private space that came with its own couch which Glynda was currently laying on. And Winter was laying on her – biting. "I believe the previous occupant was a rather stoic old man with children and grandchildren. He never sat in anything except his precious ergonomic desk chair." Winter trailed an excruciatingly slow path of kisses up from Glynda's neck to her lips, kissing them over and over again, drawing this out just as much as she possibly could. "I owe James a bottle of that bourbon he likes so much for pulling this many strings. He didn't owe me this. A chance to watch my sister grow up into an amazing huntress, and a position close to you? I'm not entirely sure what I've done to be so lucky..."

Glynda shrugged and smiled in that wise way she always did that made her look so much older than she really was. That was the smile that created Winter's original schoolgirl crush back in the day. "Like bad things, sometimes good things just happen. And the only thing we can do is appreciate them for what they are and do our best to honor the people that give them to us."

Good things never lasted, of course. Just as their lips were about to meet in another amazing kiss, a series of alarms went off that, even in her good mood, Winter refused to ignore. Which meant they were incredibly important. The heiress rushed to grab her sword and looked back at her seriously. "You... don't have to come, but seeing as this involves our main prisoners, I think you're going to want to come with me. Do you have your weapon?"

Glynda was on her feet in no time, withdrawing her crop from her boot and unfolding it. "I always do."

"That why I-" Winter caught herself, blushing deeply and brandishing her sword in an attempt to cover over what she'd very nearly said at entirely the wrong time. "That's why you're amazing... Let's go..." It wasn't far at all to the holding cells, and immediately the issue became clear. The cells were open and Cinder, Roman, and Mercury were all properly armed and climbing through a shattered window into an Atlas cruiser with help from someone Winter didn't recognize in a guard uniform and White Fang grimm mask. Both women were about to make a foolish attack on all of them when everything began to shake and the air was filled with the sound of rumbling and explosions, both near and far.

By the time either of them found their footing, the cruiser was already taking off into the sky. Winter growled and slammed her fist into a nearby telecommunication panel. "Division Seven, squad up! I want you armed and armored PDQ! This is not a drill, repeat, this is not a drill!"

She looked back and saw Glynda in the midst of a conference call with Ozpin. "It's the White Fang. If I had to guess, Adam Taurus has decided to move forward with his side of things regardless of anyone's capture. We need to get Miss Belladonna in for recommendation and counseling. Neopolitan and Emerald too, now that Cinder and Roman are out."

"I'm on it, but they've captured so many ships, they're able to cause unmitigated disaster across the city. It won't be too long before-"

The feed on her scroll went dead and Glynda sighed dejectedly. "They must have sent someone ahead to try and hack the CCT again... Communication isn't totally destroyed but it's really touch-and-go..."

Somehow, Winter knew this was at least partially her fault. Even if nobody else would ever believe that, she was willing to admit it. They had captured everyone except for Adam Taurus, and despite warnings from the two converted criminals, she chose to believe that was good enough and let her guard down. And now Taurus was launching a concentrated, precise terrorist strike against the city, not to mention freeing the dangerous criminals they had worked so hard to contain.

However, she wasn't going to let guilt or fear get either her or Glynda down. She was going to keep this fight going until death. Especially now that Ironwood was gone and she had only a handful of soldiers under her command. It would have to be enough. She reached over and gently put her hand on Glynda's shoulder with an exhausted look. "I know it has become the chorus of our lives, but we need to put things on hold and take care of this. Are you ready to do something stupid?"

"I always knew you were trouble, Schnee. I accepted that long ago. I'm ready."

* * *

Yang threw up her arms and blocked a few hits from Neo's fearsome kicks. The girl was tough for how tiny she was. But something else happened that drew all of Yang's attention. She blocked a few more attacks, trying to make contact with her and get her attention as subtly as possible while they continued the fight. "Neo... Neo! Neo! Major problem. Roman and Mercury just walked in one of the gates with a ton of White Fang soldiers and guns. And we're currently one of the few good guys around who are presently armed... You feel like doing something stupid?"

Neo nodded with a serious look, and then the both of them leapt down from the platform in unison to attack the incoming trouble.

* * *

Velvet was running through the streets of Vale, dragged along by a desperate Coco. The two of them came to a screeching halt in front of what used to be a major hospital. "Schools... municipal buildings... CCT... Now this? They're not attacking randomly..."

Velvet was still having trouble wrapping her head around what she was seeing and hearing. Once upon a time, the White Fang represented peace and understanding. This was terrorism, pure and simple, and she saw herself as both a faunus and a citizen of Vale. Before now, that meant a divided allegiance. But if she was being forced to choose between terrorists who killed innocents, and the school where she met her team and her girlfriend and so many amazing people, she would definitely side with Beacon against this insanity. "What can we do?"

Coco looked back at her, appearing surprisingly cocky as she drew her glasses down her nose slightly. "Something stupid."

* * *

White Fang meant Adam, and Adam meant trouble. Blake didn't have time to use something like stairs. She vaulted over the ledge of the balcony to the sound of Ruby and Weiss crying out, already typing her locker number into her scroll. She was running at top speed as her locker landed, and she fluidly grabbed up Gambol Shroud from inside before continuing to run toward the docking area. That was when she saw him – Adam, standing at the bow of an Atlas vessel he had no doubt stolen. Blake steeled herself and started running toward the vessel at full tilt even as it pulled away from the dock.

It was time to do what she should have done ages again. She was going to do something smart.


	16. Bad, Bad World

Emerald was not about to be shown up by one of those obnoxious heroes and leapt down to the arena floor alongside Neopolitan, glaring at the intruders. Several other students decided to join in on the melee as well, not happy about having their celebration ruined or just because they had a bone to pick with the misguided new White Fang.

Weiss landed gracefully next to Yang, Ruby somewhat less so. "Y-Yang! I think Blake just went off in search of her creepy ex. She's going to need back-up. Get to the docks, we can handle things here!" Yang nodded seriously and dashed off in search of Blake with a few well-placed blasts from her gauntlets.

Emerald, along with the other finalists, all had easy access to their weapons. The other students who were leaping in had to summon their lockers, which was an impressive display to watch as they all crashed into the arena floor. Em drew her guns and aimed them both at Mercury while Neo braced herself, staring down Roman. "I used to consider you guys my friends, so I'm giving you one chance to give up this insane idea. Take another step and you're not gonna like what happens next."

Roman took a few steps forward to the tune of dozens of rifles cocking, swinging his cane around as jovially as ever. "Neo. 're good kids. Dumb, but your hearts are in the right place. Which is a shame, because I will crush them under my heels if you get in the way of my glorious chaos. Boys?" He raised a hand to signal his little army. "Show no mercy."

The terrorists open fire on everyone and the gathered hunters and fighters ducked out of the way of the attack. Rather than joining in on the melee, Emerald noticed that Roman and Mercury were busy removing themselves from the situation and heading for a maintenance area. She grabbed Neo's hand and tugged her along after them. Whatever they were planning, it was undoubtedly bad. Ruby and Weiss seemed to get the same idea and tagged along after them. Normally Emerald would have been annoyed by this, but she knew that the other two were good fighters and had their own vendettas against Roman. Weiss came up alongside her looking incredibly concerned. "There's only one reason I can think of that they would come back here. This island is held up by a Schnee company proprietary system. It wouldn't even take that much effort to shut it down and send this whole place crashing down into the ground below. I don't even want to try and imagine how much damage that would cause..."

They found the two villains exactly where Weiss thought they might, standing before an impressively complicated console and holding what looked like explosives. "Enough time to get away, but not enough time for them to disarm it."

"I think you're giving us too much credit. A few extra minutes could make the difference between getting away and getting killed. I don't know about you but I'd like to make it out of this whole thing alive."

Ruby cleared her throat and swaggered forward a little. "Uh. Boys? Can I offer an alternative idea? Like... not doing whatever you're about to do?"

As much as Emerald appreciated Ruby's attempt at bravado, she wasn't too surprised when Roman slapped the plastic explosives in place against the machinery and set the timer for ten minutes. "Well now you ladies have a choice. Take me down or defuse this bomb. I doubt very seriously you can do both."

"You forget, Roman," Emerald growled, drawing her guns again. "They're heroes, we're not. If you don't defuse that bomb yourself, I will fill you so full of holes you'll resemble swiss cheese or... or..."

"A trypophobe's nightmare?" added Weiss helpfully.

"A trypophobe's nightmare! Yes!"

Mercury shook his head, clicking his tongue. "You two always were on a different level when it came to our reasons for doing this. You liked having people around. You liked having money and beds to sleep in. You never really understood the draw of true chaos. It was just a game for you. I can't say I'm sad to see you go..." He unleashed a flurry of kicks at her, almost knocking the weapons from her hands. At the same time, Roman went to bash Neo with his cane and she only barely managed to get her parasol up to block it.

Emerald could see Ruby and Weiss eager to jump into the fray with them, and she quickly shook her head. "We're fine, just deal with the bomb!"

Weiss looked over the keypad with a desperate whine. "I don't know anything about defusing bombs..."

"Okay well come up with a Plan B quick, then!" She barely managed to get her arms up to guard against a kick that nearly took off her head.

Weiss seemed to come up with something, because she suddenly ripped the explosive off he console and took off back down the hall with Ruby right behind, leaving just the four of them to fight. Roman attempted to get to the door, but Neopolitan was quick on the draw and knocked him down.

"You're right, you know. I was never particularly interested in causing chaos. I never wanted to murder a family member or steal a girl's powers or destroy a city. I just wanted to live. And when they had every right to throw us in a cell next to you, you know what the people here did? They gave us a chance. Sometimes, rules suck. But sometimes? They're not so bad. So to hell with your anarchy if it means killing decent people." Emerald roared before closing the distance between herself and Mercury, attacking him with slash after slash, then surprising him by wrapping a chain around his ankle to trip him up. As much as it pained her to do, she pushed him down and then used all the leverage she had to tear out one of his legs, breaking it in the process.

Neo, despite being otherwise unable to say anything as eloquent, was able to drive the blade at the end of her parasol between Roman's ribs, then giving him the finger with all the fury she had in her tiny body.

"What she said..." Emerald added, using the limb she'd just removed to knock Mercury over the head, rendering him unconscious.

* * *

Ruby and Weiss were both using their semblances to move through the hall to get outside as fast as they possibly could. Ruby looked over at her partner, forcing herself to not get lost in how beautiful she was when she got all confident and determined. "Care to let me in on this grand plan of yours?"

"Let's see... Geographically the population density is lowest in... that direction so..." They burst through the door and moved out to the edge of the lower level, both coming to a grinding halt. She threw up a series of glyphs in the air, hoving at a slight angle in an outward trajectory from the floating island. "Think of it like... a railgun. We just toss it through and the bomb will fly out into an area where it will explode away from outlying cities. If we can't defuse this thing in time, the least we can do is get it away from everyone."

"Weiss, that's quite possibly the craziest idea you've ever come up with. I love it." She grinned and carefully took the bomb from her. Weiss had a tendency to over-think things, and since neither of them knew how the damned thing worked, Ruby's rash nature meant she could at least try and cut a wire while they still had a few minutes on the timer. "Okay okay... There are... a lot of wires on this puppy. Um, according to movies the red wire is the good wire. Or uh... the bad wire? Shoot..."

"Please tell me you're not about to base this decision on what you've seen in the movies, Ruby."

"Well, it's that, or cutting one at random! Both ideas have the same relative merit!" She looked it over again, trying and failing to follow each wire and see what it powered. This really was an impossible problem that neither one of them was prepared to solve. So she ripped out a blue and white striped one that had a good aura about it. It was, naturally, the wrong one. The timer beeped and started speeding up. "Uhhhh! Well, we can't say I didn't try at least!" What Ruby lacked in problem solving, she at least made up for in aim and skill. With one powerful swing, she tossed the bomb into the 'railgun' which launched it off into the air in a rather beautiful arc.

Several things happened in rapid succession, none of which made a bit of sense.

Their attention was drawn away from the bomb and down to the ground where they could see that Grimm were swarming the city – no doubt drawn by the sudden influx of negative emotions that any rational person would feel in the wake of a broad terrorist attack. From there, their gazes were drawn to a distant mountain which began to rumble as though it was going to erupt like a volcano. A few seconds later, it burst.

Rather than lava, what emerged was the most massive Grimm either girl had ever seen, some kind of drake or dragon that would terrify even the most seasoned veteran. Ruby couldn't even begin to imagine how she would go about taking down a monster that ferocious. Luckily, she didn't have to think about it too hard, because fate decided to step in and help them out. With impossible precision, the bomb began to descend back down to earth just as the dragon reared back, latching onto it square in the center of its chest. Then, it exploded.

"Weiss..." Ruby said in a hollow tone, "what even is my life anymore? I've completely lost track of it all."

"Yeah, same..."

They could hear several sets of footsteps approaching quickly from various areas.

Marigold ran up, out of breath. "Port has been getting word of Grimm attacks all ov- What in the hell is that?"

"We did it we actually did it they're down they're- What did we miss?" Emerald and Neopolitan were close behind, all of them equally baffled.

Ruby finally tore her gaze away from the chaos and looked at the gathering crowd of students. "This is just the start. We need a plan, now."


	17. Ruby Falls

Blake landed gracefully on the deck of the ship to the chorus of a dozen rifles cocking and aiming at her. Once upon a time these people were her brothers and sisters, but now they were enemies. It was not a pleasant realization. Far less pleasant was the way Adam's voice scraped against her spine and infected her bones and poisoned her blood and cracked her skin. "Stand down!" He strode the length of the vessel to stand in front of her, arms crossed with that familiar old smirk. "And so my love finally returns to me. With a kiss, or with a blade? Therein lies the question."

She gave an exhausted sigh and stood as tall as she could – though it wasn't tall enough. Being here in front of him, she started to feel like her old self: wide-eyed and naive and foolish. She forced herself to remember all the friends she made and everything she'd been through. It was the only way she was going to make it through this. "Adam, if you think for even a second that I'm here to join you, then you really have lost it. This... This isn't even close to what the White Fang was meant for! Blowing up hospitals? Flooding a city full of innocent people with Grimm? These are the actions of a madman, not a revolutionary!"

He spread his arms out, looking for all the world like the cult leader he had turned into. "Innocent? You have lost sight of the whole picture, my darling. In a reality that seeks to undermine us at every turn, there are only two kinds of people – allies and enemies. Every human is an enemy, as is any faunus who would dare associate with humans. The only option left is to exterminate those who would otherwise exterminate us!"

"What about you? You're working with humans!"

"Means to an end and nothing more. They aid the cause, and when their usefulness has reached its end, they will be removed like all others."

This conversation was madness, and Blake could see that it was going nowhere. That was when she heard the familiar sound of a shotgun blast and that battle cry that could only come from one person. Full of her usual life and vigor, Yang came screaming out of the sky and landed next to her. "This is your d-bag ex?"

Almost instantly Blake was smiling again. Yang just had that effect on people. "That's him. He's clearly lost it."

Adam smirked and drew Wilt and Blush. "It would pain me to kill you, my love. But I relish the chance to take away something you love."

"I'd like to see you try, pretty boy~" Yang cocked her gauntlets and Blake drew her own blade, and the momentary shock from Adam was an incredible feeling of vindication. Almost as one, the two of them stepped forward and began attacking.

He had never been a slouch when it came to combat, but he had apparently picked up a few new tricks. Adam was capable of fighting both of them simultaneously, even with Blake and Yang holding nothing back. He was at least enough of a gentleman to keep the other White Fang members at bay, choosing to battle them alone. Not that this gave them any kind of upper hand. He could clash blades with Blake while consistently ducking and dodging Yang's fists.

"Bumblebee!" Yang cried out as the two of them backstepped from the melee for a moment.

"I-I don't know, Yang..."

"Hey~ Trust me." Ugh, she couldn't say no when she gave those puppy dog eyes. She tossed one end of her ribbon high in the air and Yang grabbed onto it, then propelled herself back down with her gauntlet as Blake pulled it as hard as she could. It looked for all the world like Adam was about to get his skull caved in.

Then, Adam sheathed his blade.

"No!" Blake tried to stop her, course correct her trajectory, anything. But physics were already doing its thing and there was no stopping what was about to happen. There was a shot, one flash of red, and then another, and Yang hit the deck. Her arm landed a few feet away from her. "Yang!" Blake dashed forward, dropping a shadow semblance in front of Adam, then moving to his back and checking him with all the force she had in her body. For once, just once in his life, he lacked any measure of grace as he stumbled toward the edge and fell over the side to the city far below.

With that same speed, she moved to Yang's side and instinctually started doing what she could to stop the bleeding. All around her, the White Fang foot soldiers seemed unsure what to do. "Don't just stand there! Someone get me a medical kit! And for all that is good and holy someone get this boat back to the dock, we need to pick up my friends!"

Yang coughed and, somehow, managed to smile at her. "H-Hey um... D-Do me a favor? Just uh... Just don't say I told you so. A girl h-has to have her pride, ya know?"

Blake sniffled and tore a scrap from her outfit to make a tourniquette. "H-Hah, I wou-wouldn't dream of it..." She secured the make-shift bandage and looked around. "I need to go do something. Don't go anywhere."

"You can't hold me down, kitty cat. I'm always on the move..." She coughed again, this time a bit of blood coming up. "But just this once, I guess I can keep still."

"Someone make sure she doesn't die once they find that kit. If anything happens to her, you're gonna go join your brave and fearless leader. Got it?" Blake didn't wait for a response as she headed for the cabin, eventually locating radio. Even if major communications were down, this would still reach enough ears. "Attention, White Fang members. This is Blake Belladonna, daughter of Ghira Belladonna. And, in the wake of Adam Taurus' recent death, temporary leader of the White Fang. You are ordered to cease all attacks on the city of Vale. You will help defeat the Grimm, rescue citizens, and keep any further infrastructure from being destroyed. Those of you who do not agree with this new course of action, feel free to come find me and see just how lenient I'm feeling at the moment."

She hung up and went back outside to check on Yang and meet with the other students at the docks. That was when she heard the explosion and saw the massive dragon collapse to the ground below just outside the city limits. She crouched next to her partner while one of the dazed men cleaned and dressed her wound. "The night's not over yet, baby... How are you feeling?"

"Well, I think the morphine just kicked in, because I'm pretty sure I just saw a big lizard blow up."

* * *

Velvet was infinitely grateful that it wasn't just her and Coco at the moment. Whatever happened, it was city-wide, and very very bad. As the two of them tried to take down Grimm that were swarming a hospital, putting out fires and whatever else they could do to help, they managed to find Ozpin, Glynda, and several other people they didn't recognize. There was the woman who almost definitely was related to Weiss, and the gruff guy with the scythe, and the girl with the staff who seemed almost too powerful for words. But there was no time for questions, not right now.

"We're never going to make enough of a dent on this chaos at this rate. We'll have to split up." Glynda had a good idea, even if the concept of splitting up almost never, ever ended well.

"You're right. Qrow, you and Amber come with me. Glynda, you and Winter can take the area by the shipyard. Girls, the safety of Beacon and the tower are paramount. Get back there and thin out the Grimm herd." Ozpin motioned to everyone seriously, and it was a good moment to remind you that he was headmaster for a reason.

Everyone turned to attend to their new orders when suddenly the Amber girl gasped. "...ah!" They all looked back to see an arrow sticking through her torso. Before any of them could think to react, a glowing eye appeared at the end, and a second later, exploded violently.

* * *

As if things couldn't get any stranger, Ruby watched with growing fascination as a bunch of stolen ships began returning to the island's docks. The first to return was led by Blake who looked a fair bit like a true warrior maiden. She leapt down from the bow and instantly pulled Ruby and Weiss into a tight hug. "We took care of Adam but... Yang... She got hurt..."

Blake led them to the other end where Yang was laying semi-conscious with a very obvious part of her sitting nearby, not attached. All three of them paused a moment to just take in what was happening. "She's gonna be okay though, right?"

Blake took one of her hands and Weiss took the other. "You'll be happy to know she was telling jokes right up until the moment the morphine kicked in and she decided it was nap time. She'll be fine, but 'fine' might take a while."

"Good. That's all I needed to hear." With a new determination in her eyes, Ruby went back to where everyone was waiting. "Alright, it's go time. Ciel and Penny, I need you two to go with Weiss down to the CCT and see what you can do about fixing it. We're stuck unless we can get some kind of communication back up. Team MRPN, you guys need to get down to the city and help with relief and aid. There are still a lot of Grimm and a lot of people are probably in trouble. Blake, if the White Fang are really willing to help, get them spread out as far as possible to patch up everything. Neopolitan and Emerald, I need you with me. Cinder is still out there, and I'm going to want your input for Round Two."

Everyone split up to hop on different ships when suddenly Ruby felt like she was going to be ill. It seemed reasonable, after everything that had happened in such a short span of time. But what had started as nausea was quickly turning into something far more painful. It was getting to the point that it felt as though every single atom in her body was on fire. "N-No, come on, there's too much to do... I can't be sick now... Ugh, what is this...?"

Emerald laid a hand against her shoulder, then suddenly recoiled. "Hey um... okay so when I say you're burning up, I mean literally. Your temperature is... like bad. Like 200 degrees bad. You've done a lot, maybe we should just get you somewhere to rest?"

"Can't rest. Not until we're done. Not until... Ahh!" Everything went... weird, and it literally felt like Ruby was on fire. She was also beginning to get a sense of vertigo, and it was only when she opened her eyes that she realized that she was being held up by a whirlwind. Everyone had stopped their departures and were just staring at her. "Don't worry about me, just go!" Her voice sounded strange, echo-y and distant. "Why are you looking at me like there are flames shooting out of my eyes?"

Weiss cleared her throat and took a few steps toward where she was hovering. "Um... because there are, sweetie..."

Emerald and Neopolitan shared a knowing look. "I think... Ruby is the Fall Maiden..."

With so many ridiculous things happening at once, nobody had noticed that the dragon was now hovering a short distance from the docks with Cinder standing on its head. "That's where it went. Curious. Fine, I'll just kill every single person in the city until the power comes back to me. I will get what I'm owed."


	18. So Long

Emerald felt like it had been refreshing enough the first time they all took down Cinder. She could only hope it would be twice as delicious to see it happen again when someone else was using those insane powers. Granted, Ruby was... unsteady and kind of freaked out. But she would still rather see that magic in the hands of someone decent instead of that crazy-pants.

"Ruby! Please don't try to do this alone..." Weiss looked up at where she was hovering with pleading eyes.

"You guys still have jobs to do, that hasn't changed. The only difference is that Cinder came to me, and now I can deal with that dragon at the same time." She looked down at her, somehow managing to project a gentle kindness even through the flame and wind. "Go. Blake can make us all a big pot of tea when this is done. But first we gotta do stuff. I love you..."

It was gross, sure, but also kind of cute that the two of them were having this little heart-to-heart in the eye of a hurricane. "...I love you too. Don't die." Everyone reluctantly made their way to the ships and were ferried off by the awe-struck and confused members of the White Fang.

To Emerald's surprise, Cinder just let this happen, watching with mild amusement as everyone went off to try and fix her mess. Clearly she was desperate for a good fight, so she was willing to be patient. Cinder had proved a million times over that she was very good at being patient. Though she looked more harried than Emerald was used to seeing her. The dragon's head dipped down and Cinder stepped off as if she were emerging from a stretch limo or something, all beautiful and graceful. Em momentarily remembered part of the reason she was willing to work for her.

Everyone began drawing their weapons as they moved on to the traditional shit-talking portion of the event. Cinder flourished her knives and looked Ruby dead in the eyes. "Be a dear and make sure you're focusing really hard on me when I cut your head off. Just to make sure I get the Fall Maiden's powers. It would be so tiresome to have to kill more people just to get what was already mine."

Neopolitan and Emerald stepped closer to flank Ruby. The sudden influx of strength appeared to be hurting Ruby as much as it was empowering her. She descended back down next to them, up on her feet, but only barely. "J... Just to spite you, I'm gonna think about my old pen pal from Vacuo. You'll never find her..." She managed to get out a few chuckles before groaning in pain again.

"Just focus on catching your breath, kid. Leave this... to Team Mindfuck." Neopolitan gasped with delight and extended a fist to her, and Emerald cheerfully bumped her own against it.

Predictably, Cinder just laughed at them, having obviously lost whatever tiny shred of respect she might have once held for them. "I always thought you two were fools. It's comforting to know how right I was."

"Shut up. Literally nobody cares." Taking her cue perfectly, Neo went on the direct attack while Emerald stepped back to keep closer to Ruby while throwing up as many hundreds of illusions as she could. Cinder was smart and she would probably see through a bunch of them, so Emerald was focusing on quantity over quality. You couldn't really mess with Cinder's head, but you could at least try and keep her distracted while someone else took her out.

It was troubling that the dragon was willing to just wait there for them while they fought. Granted, Cinder was capable of some pretty weird stuff, but it seemed like the height of impossibility that she had actually figured out a way to pacify and control a Grimm. But there it was, just watching everything go down with an odd level of intensity.

Whenever she could, Emerald would make sure to spare a shot. But she had to admit, Neo was really holding her own against the older woman. As much as Emerald hated to recognize the fact, becoming one of the good guys had actually had a positive effect on their fighting skills – even if that made no sense whatsoever. In an impressive display, Neo popped open her parasol and it erupted in a shower of shadow Dust she had woven into it earlier. Emerald placed a collection of illusionary versions of herself around Cinder. "Don't you get it yet? Adam has fallen to his death, I snapped off Merc's leg, Neo stabbed Roman so good she probably punctured a vital organ. You're all that's left, and even if you do get the Fall Maiden's powers, you're going to lose eventually. There's just too many annoying goody-goodies out there. You don't have to join us, but do you really have to keep this stupid crusade goi-"

"Enough!" Cinder flipped back, slamming her knives together into a bow and drawing an arrow, loosing it with perfect aim straight for Ruby's head. Both Emerald and Neopolitan tried to block it, but she did that awful trick shot she loved so much, disintegrating the arrow and reforming it again a foot ahead. Ruby really wasn't a bad person, and she damn sure didn't deserve a hole in her head.

So it was just as well that the arrow was completely incinerated before it ever reached her skin. Ruby's eyes erupted once more, but this time it was... different. There were still flames, but the silver popped more as well, sparkling and sparking. She wasn't just beaming with Maiden energy, this was something else entirely. Using her scythe, she pushed herself up to a standing position and stared down Cinder. "You destroy and demolish and burn and you never care once. You pretend to be my friend, you hurt people I love, you plot to ruin everything good in this world. I would send you back to whoever you work for with a message. But I think removing you from the equation will be message enough."

The more she spoke, the brighter she glowed, until finally Ruby was blinding and they had to shield their eyes. And then the light burst, consuming Cinder and the dragon in shining white flames.

* * *

Everyone down on the ground was feeling the tension of this whole... thing. Weiss, for the most part, couldn't really do all that much that Penny and Ciel couldn't figure out for themselves. So she took up guard duty instead. Penny plugged herself directly into a console while Ciel worked alongside her at the keyboard. "The good news is that the problem is software, not hardware. Whoever they sent in to take down the CCT must have been ordered to be surgical about it." Ciel must have been typing like a madwoman, given the rapid tapping sound Weiss could hear.

"Yes, this is... giving me a very confusing mix of loathing and admiration. Shutting down mass communication while still leaving certain lines open. If they had operated more seamlessly, they might have done much more damage."

Weiss shivered and glanced unconsciously back at Vytal with a little sigh. Enough damage had already been done. She didn't want to think about how much worse it could have gone. As her eyes lingered on the distant floating island, she noticed a glow that almost definitely had something to do with her partner and girlfriend who she absolutely shouldn't have left alone. The glow got bright and brighter until it seemed to illuminate all of Vytal, Beacon, and Vale.

"I think perhaps we have solved it!" Penny clapped excitedly, then stopped when she noticed the change in lighting. "It is not even midnight yet. How is the sun rising?"

"That's not the sun. I think that's Ruby..."

* * *

Emerald groaned and finally pulled her arm back from her face to survey the situation. Ruby was already back to looking like a normal human, and had passed out after her attack was done. Cinder basically didn't seem to even exist anymore. The dragon looked petrified where it was clinging to the platform, but she could see that it was turning into dust and blowing away in the breeze. Together with Neopolitan, she worked to turn Ruby over onto her back when suddenly her scroll went off. "When the hell did Princess get my number? Whatever..." She pressed the button and sighed. "Weiss, is everything okay?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing! What in the world was that light?"

Emerald chuckled and looked back in the direction of the city. "Okay so it was just as impressive from the outside then? Because I'm pretty sure my vision will never be the same after that crap happening right next to my eyes."

"Is she okay? Is Ruby alive?"

Oh. Right. Probably should have led with that. But Emerald was still finding her footing when it came to being a good guy, so this was kind of new. "Uh, yeah. Unconscious, but we're both here and we'll keep an eye on her. But hey! You're calling! That means you got the system back up!"

"Yeah, well, that's part of the bad news. Penny and Ciel are like mega-geniuses and didn't even need my help. But whatever they put into the system, it's thorough and it's nasty. Short range communication is back up across Vale, but we may not be able to contact the outside world for a little while. Still, it's a start..."

Emerald rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Okay, well... I personally saw every single one of my former partners taken down or killed tonight, so I can at least attest to the fact that things will be quiet for a while."

"There's... a lot I still don't understand, but that light seems to have scared off most of the Grimm from the city except for the really big angry ones. But now that we have our scrolls back at least, we can do something about it. Um... Uh... A-Anyway, thanks for looking after Ruby. Beacon has been mostly undamaged in the chaos, which means our infirmary is gonna be the safest place. I'll call Blake and see if she can bring Yang around too." There was a long, drawn out sigh on the other end of the phone. "Um, yeah, so... So thanks again. I'll see you guys soon."

Neo held up her hands in the shape of a heart against her chest with fake doe eyes, grinning wide. Emerald snickered and shoved her away before she made her break out into fits of laughter in the middle of a fairly serious conversation. "Your girlfriend is in good hands. Just focus on getting that stuff fixed up and finding others." She hung up before Weiss could thank her for the tenth time and looked at Neopolitan, then at the rest of the docks. It was empty, except for them, and completely devoid of vessels. "Now... how the hell do we get down?"


	19. Happier

It was finally over, and Vale was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Despite the widespread damage to the city, things returned to normal almost instantly. With help from students and faculty of Beacon, citizens were able to go back to their normal lives. After all, Vale was a tough city of tough people and they weren't going to let a couple of jerks make them fear for their lives. There was too much stuff to do.

The tournament had been interrupted, and no one was quite in the mood to try and pick back up where things had left off. So instead an agreement was reached. The students who had made it to the finals would all be honored in a ceremony, as a show of solidarity between the four kingdoms. Yang had been a little disappointed about losing her chance to be the big champion. And no one was really comfortable with pointing out that she was at something of a disadvantage until Ironwood came through on his promise of a shiny new metal arm. She openly admitted that she felt amazing to be not only a finalist but also the big damn hero who took such a big hit in the line of duty fighting for the person she loves.

It was unanimously agreed that Team RWBY had earned a break. So the girls created a big cozy fort of blankets and pillows in the middle of their room and snuggled up together to decompress. Two terrorist attacks and multiple arrests had a way of taking it out of you.

Weiss was the first to push forward on an awkward subject, nuzzling into Ruby's shoulder with a little frown. "So... are you... still you, Ruby?"

Ruby felt legitimately offended at the question, but she also knew it was kind of understandable. After all, even with everything they had learned about the Maidens, none of them had really considered the possibility that one of them would suddenly become a part of the mystical order! Plus there was still all this silver eyes business that Qrow seemed very hesitant to talk about too much. But at least she could answer her broadly. "You saw me trip up on my own cape and fall flat on my face this morning. I'm still me, just with... a few tiny changes! Everyone seems to agree that I need to finish up learning here at Beacon. And... being a Maiden is basically the same as being a huntress, so I can stick with you guys even after we graduate. Honestly, it's going to take me forever to learn how to use all these new powers anyway. That stuff hurts if you're not prepared." She laughed awkwardly, rubbing her neck, but she was cut off by a quick kiss from Weiss.

Blake chuckled and leaned over to give Zwei a little scratch behind the ears. It was a wonder how much the little dork wormed his way into your heart. "Um, and... how are you doing, Yang?"

Yang rolled her right shoulder, clearly missing the weight that used to hang there. "It sucks? I don't know, I mean it's cool that the General wants to give me a replacement. But even a prosthetic won't completely stop all the weird phantom symptoms or the bizarre physiological stuff. But... I have you guys, and everyone else, and they all know I hate pity anyway. So it could be worse. I can't imagine how terrible it would be to go through this alone..."

Everyone smiled softly and clung together a bit tighter. Hopefully, the future would be kinder to them.

* * *

Team MRPN was down in the city at a cafe, enjoying the fruits of their labor from a grateful shop owner that they had saved. Their table was piled high with various baked goods and delicious cups of soothing tea.

"Soooo... Ruby's like... a superhero now?" Nora said through a mouth full of brownie.

Marigold shrugged and added an unhealthy portion of sugar to her mug. "I mean, we're all kinda already superheroes."

Ren was already drinking his tea, old-school without anything added to it. "Well what then? A goddess?"

Something about that word sent a shiver up Pyrrha's spine. "I hope not. Can you imagine the kind of stress that would come along with that much power? The responsibility and the expectations? No thank you." She did allow herself a private smile as a secondary thought cropped up, her cheeks warming slightly. "Then again, Ruby is pretty much the only person I can think of that I would trust with the power of a Maiden. She's too sweet to ever be corrupted by it."

Mari looked over at her with a curious smile, her head canting to the side slightly. "Something else you'd like to share with the class?"

"No..." she said mysteriously, after a moment's consideration. Ren and Nora just rolled their eyes. What was it about the students at Beacon that made them so thirsty?

* * *

Glynda couldn't really shake the constant tension she now felt, that anything good in her life might suddenly be taken away. She wanted to just enjoy sitting on this couch with Winter. But every time they started to get close, something new cropped up. The white-haired commander had clearly taken notice of this and shifted closer to her, reaching up to tease out her hair with a sympathetic pout. "What's going on in that beautiful brain of yours, Goodwitch. Today should be a happy day."

"Yes, until it's suddenly not. We were having a happy day before, right up until the moment those alarms went off because revolutionaries broke dangerous criminals out of their cells. What will go wrong today? What new villain will emerge and interrupt our alone time? When will James contact you with some new mission that will take you out to Mistral for three months? I'm tired of surprises, Winter. I'd like to go back to just being a boring educator for a while..."

Winter looked understanding, but also unphased, and she continued to gently toy with her hair, scratching her scalp. "What about surprising good news? How do you feel about that?"

Glynda's eyes closed slowly and she sunk into her seat a little more. "I am feeling... open to the possibility?"

"Good. Because I'm not going anywhere."

Glynda's eyes shot back open wide. "How can you be sure?"

"With Penny staying here at Beacon, and Ciel having... questionable objectivity on the subject of her partner, he wants someone to stay in Vale and keep an eye on her. I am stuck here until further notice as an attache for the military's R&D department. You will not be rid of me any time soon."

Smiling brightly, Glynda closed the gap between them and seized her lips in a passionate kiss. She held it for quite some time, only pulling away so she could softly whisper, "okay, perhaps not all surprises are bad."

* * *

Qrow stared down at the headstone, swigging from his flask. "Hard to say what caused it. Guess we'll never know. Maybe it's my fault for talking so much about my niece, somehow she ended up buried in your mind, and that's why she got your powers. Or maybe there really is some kind of divine magic that decides who the next one is based on a bunch of arbitrary standards we'll never really get. She's a good kid, and it's like... I know she'll be fine. But I hate that she has to bear this burden. But at least she won't be hauling it around by her lonesome."

He let out a long, exhausted sigh and sat down with his back against the cool stone. "Sorry you got stuck with a useless sack of shit like me. I wasn't there the first time and you got your powers taken away. And even when I was around, you still took a stupid exploding arrow to the chest. Feels like a lot of things are my fault. Somehow that seems right." Qrow took a few more long draws from the flask until it was empty, then he dumped it upside down in a display of proper drunken procedure. "Other than the whole 'you got killed' thing, it's actually not too bad around here. Vale is bouncing back like a cage fighter with a vengeance. The kids are surviving and hooking up like you're supposed to at that age, what with all the hormones. Winter's with Glynda now, which I guess is kinda adorable. Some of the bad guys are good guys now. I figure there's probably an iteration of this world where things aren't nearly as cheery, so I try to just focus on that. Anyway, obviously I miss you like hell." He laid his head back and closed his eyes, using the opportunity to rest.

* * *

Once the dust had settled, Ozpin called Ciel into his office to discuss the students who would be joining Beacon for the start of the next semester. Just as they had all suspected, it was only herself, Penny, Neopolitan, and Emerald. They talked for a while about the formation of the new team and double-checked that the four of them would actually be able to work together.

Once she had assured him that everything would be fine, she was free to leave. They all agreed to meet again that night at Neo's safehouse for another session of doing absolutely nothing. This was still something of a novelty for Ciel, and she found it was actually incredibly nice to shut down and shut off for a time. Emerald provided food for them and Penny chose a dumb action film that everyone found agreeable.

"So... It's really happening then?" In truth, Ciel had expected the other two girls to look more disappointed, but she could swear there was an air of relief in Emerald's voice.

"Yes. Ozpin informed me that the irregularity of it all meant that any kind of proper ceremony would be pointless." Ciel brushed a hand through her hair before remembering she was allowed to be comfortable and slid over to rest against Penny lightly. "I know this situation is not entirely ideal for you two. And... I just wanted to thank you for extending a friendly hand to us. I know we are nothing at all like the kind of company you are used to keeping."

Neo shrugged and signed with a small smile, "lucky for you you're not half bad."

"Look at the people we hung out with before. Merc is a sadist, Roman's a narcissist, and Cinder... well, I don't know what happened with her. But I'll take a nerd and an android over that right now." Emerald nodded and looked at them both in appreciation. "We might drive each other crazy when they cram us together in a dorm. And I'm sure I'm going to hate wearing a uniform. Classes will be boring as hell. But I can deal."

Penny surveyed the girls on the other couch with a warm smile. "I know you still sometimes think of yourselves as 'bad guys'. But I do not know if that was ever the case. You did what you felt you needed to out of necessity, and yes, you committed crimes. But you have made it clear that it was only ever a means to finding the kind of common comforts others take for granted. I look forward to working with you."

Ciel was surprised to hear Neopolitan sniffle, and saw Emerald hastily wiping at the corner of her eye. "Thanks... dork..." Neo hastily signed.

The chaos may have ended, but for the four of them, it felt like things had only just begun.


End file.
